Shadowbane
by Tyira
Summary: Some people have a connection with dogs, others with birds, reptiles, or horses. But some of these people are more than just "animal whisperers." They have connections to mythical creatures as well. And four of these very special people will come together to stop a common enemy. *Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons and Companions Quartet crossover*
1. Prologue: Jack Overland

**Author's Note: This story is best understood if you have read the Companions Quartet by Julia Golding. It is not necessary, though. It is written by both me and JazzinAces. We will alternate chapters. This chapter is mine. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_"There are no mythical creatures; just creatures man ran into hiding."_

_Julia Golding_

* * *

Jackson Overland stared out the window of the airplane. Moving again. Not that it was all bad. He'd lived a lot of cool places in his eleven years and any friend he made was fascinated by his tales.

But it wasn't all good either. His mom was always moving because of her job, so Jack and Emma had to leave behind countless friends from all over the world. Come to think of it, what was it about her job that made them need to move? What... what _was_ her job?

This question had never occurred to Jack to ask. His mom had always said, "We have to move because of my job," but never said what that job was. He turned and leaned over his little sister to ask his mom. Who was asleep. Jack sighed. He'd ask later.

The airplane touched down in Cornwall. Jack waited for his mom and sister to get their bags and make their way along the aisle. He moved out and grabbed his luggage from the overhead compartment. It was much too heavy for the eleven-year-old to get down on his own. His arms buckled under the sudden weight thrust upon them and the bag fell right on a woman. She fell backward into a seat, the heavy bag right on top of her. Jack, thinking quickly, pulled with all his might on the handle.

"Sorry," he murmured, embarrassed. The woman looked into his with piercing frost-blue eyes, contrasting his brown eyes perfectly. There was a certain energy, Jack noticed, about this woman. An exciting energy that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up straight.

"It's not a problem," she said, her voice sounding cold as ice. She took the slim briefcase she had dropped and walked briskly down the aisle to the exit. He watched her go, feeling a need memorize her pale face, her black hair, her striking eyes. He felt a connection to this woman. But it couldn't be anything. She was just some woman.

* * *

A taxi took them from the airport west toward a small town just south of Dartmoor National Park: Lochwell. The driver took them to their new home, a humble house with one floor and a basement. It wasn't a large house. None of them ever were. Two bedrooms, usually, with one bathroom. It was never fun to share a bedroom with his sister. This one, though, had three bedrooms, so Jack could have his own. Finally. Emma clearly had the same idea.

"We have three rooms?" she exclaimed. "I can't believe it!"

Jack chuckled and made his way down to the room at the end of the hall, which he immediately claimed. He already was planning the layout in his mind. The dresser over here, the bed right there, his bookshelf there... yeah, England was already starting to grow on him.

* * *

"Go get your sister and go around town. Look around. Explore. Maybe you'll find something cool."

Jack nodded and went to Emma's almost-empty room. A sleeping bag and the bag Emma had brought on the plane was all that was there. Their furniture hadn't arrived yet. Jack's sister had her nose deep in a book. Jack snuck around the edges of the room, right behind his sister. He held his hand just above her shoulders, and as he said, "Boo!" she jumped, and her head snapped up from her book. He laughed.

"Jack!" she yelled, hitting him with the book. He jumped back, holding his knee in pain.

"Dad says we should explore the town."

Emma dog-eared her book page and stood up. "Ready when you are." The two exited Emma's room, waving goodbye to their father as they left the house.

The summer sun burned bright and hot. Mostly around were houses; the town and the people were nowhere yet. They heard a door close across the road and looked to see a young girl with black hair and a red headscarf come down her driveway and walk along the sidewalk. Jack could distinctly hear her singing something, but the words were unidentifiable. He waved. She looked at him in bemusement, and then dashed across the street to meet the two Overlands.

"You're the ones that moved here, right?" Jack nodded. The girl held out a hand. "Evelyn Lionheart."

Jack and Emma each took the girl's hand in turn. "I'm Jack Overland, and this is my little sister Emma."

"Nice to meet you," Evelyn said.

"You too. We were going to explore the town. Could you give us a tour?"

The girl nodded and they walked down Ivydene Road. He could hear now the song she was singing. "I'm sure I don't know, says the great bell at Bow. Here comes a candle to light you to bed. Here comes a chopper to chop off your head."

"What are you singing?"

"Oranges and Lemons," she replied simply.

"It's kind of morbid, don't you think?"

"I know. I like those kinds of songs. My mom says that's how she knew I was a-never mind."

"What was it you were going to say?" Emma asked.

"It's nothing," Evelyn said, shoving her hands into her jean pockets.

"Oh, come on, tell us," persisted Jack.

"I said never mind!" Evelyn yelled. Then she looked up to see the primary school. "Here we are."

"This is the town?" Emma asked dubiously.

"No," replied Evelyn with a grin, "this is just the beginning of the fun." She beckoned the Overlands as she ran off. Jack, without question, followed, but Emma was sure the girl was mad. The only reason she eventually followed was that she didn't remember the way clearly enough to go home alone. Evelyn led them around to the back of the school and began to climb a metal ladder. "Come on up! This is how repairmen get up here if trees fall on the school or something. It's really cool."

When they reached the top, they could see neighborhoods in front of them and the town behind. "There's my house," said Evelyn, pointing. "That one's yours over there."

Jack grinned as he spotted it. Emma came up and leaned over the side as the other two were. Jack grabbed the back of her shirt and pushed her forward. Then he jerked her back. "Saved your life!"

"Jack!" she yelled. She seemed to do that often. Evelyn snickered and turned around to the other side.

"There's the Laundromat. That's the grocery store. There is the best food in the whole town. Brock's. The best fish-and-chips store in the whole world! I mean, out of those I've tasted. If you brought pocket money, we can get some."

Jack checked his pockets. "I think we have enough for lunch. I haven't eaten, and I think I'm starting to get hungry."

"Okay!" Evelyn climbed back down the ladder and dashed off toward the town. Jack and Emma exchanged looks. She sure was an interesting character. As they walked, they conversed pleasantly. "Where've you two lived before here?"

"Well, we were born in Pennsylvania. Then we went to Canada, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, the Philippines. Then we moved back to Burgess-that's the city in Pennsylvania-and then we moved here."

Evelyn's eyes widened. "No way. That's so cool! I mean, I knew you were from the States, because of your accent and all-"

"You're the one with an accent!" cut in Emma.

Evelyn shook her head and the three argued fervently yet jokingly until they reached Brock's. Evelyn ordered fish and chips and sodas for the three of them and at their seats they paid her back. No one spoke. They were too hungry and the food was too good to do anything besides eat. At last their meal was finished and they hiked back up to the primary school.

"What do your parents do?" inquired Evelyn.

Jack laughed. Exactly what he'd been wondering. "Well, my dad does all sorts of stuff, but just because he hates being idle. He hasn't gotten a job here yet. And mom... I honestly don't know. She's never said. Her job is the reason we're always moving."

"Maybe she works with my mom. She's always going on business trips. If you tell me your mom's name, I could ask my mom and you'd know."

"Joye Overland?"

"Oh, everyone knows Joye Overland. She's a Trustee in-never mind."

Again with the 'never mind'. What was she hiding? "Am I allowed to ask?"

"Of course not." They walked in silence the rest of the way home.

* * *

"Mom," Jack asked conversationally, "what exactly is it that you do?"

His mom looked at him out of the corner of her eye, an eyebrow raised about as far as it could possibly go. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," he began slowly, "we just have to move all the time, and I was wondering why? What is your job and what is it that makes us move?"

Jack's mom looked at him sternly. She looked ready to say something important. "You've always had a special connection with dogs, am I right?"

Of course. All he had ever wanted was a dog, and not only for the normal reason. He liked dogs because they were more fun than a barrel full of monkeys, but then everyone did. There was something understanding in them, something almost sentient about the animals. Impossible, but that was the way it seemed to him. Everyone called him "Jack the Dog Whisperer" and he guessed that's what he could be called, if anything. Due to his mother's job, though, he could never have a dog, so he volunteered at animal shelters. He'd calm the wildest dogs and comfort the most easily frightened.

"Yes, but what does that-"

"Tomorrow, you're going to find out what my job is." Jack's mother ruffled his brown hair lovingly. That answer didn't satisfy the boy completely, but it was better than nothing, he supposed. He left the couch and went to his newly-furnished room to read. He was deep in a fantasy novel but couldn't read it. His mind was too busy thinking of what secret occupation his mother could possibly hold.

* * *

"Goodbye, Joye," Thomas Overland said with a quick peck on his wife's cheek.

"We won't be long," Jack's mom said with a wave. Jack waved as well before closing the door. They got into an old Chevy, which was all they could afford, and drove for fifteen minutes to a house hardly bigger than their own. They parked in front of the house and his mother knocked on the door. A grey-haired man opened the door.

"Ah, Joye!" he exclaimed. "So nice to see you." The man and Jack's mother embraced.

"Jackson," his mother said, "this is Michael Bauers, an expert in his field."

Mr. Bauers held out a hand. Jack took it and the man shook Jack's hand firmly. "Nice to meet you, Jackson."

"Jack," he corrected, without thinking to say so politely.

Mr. Bauers nodded and gestured the two in. "So this is our victim, hm?" The man sized up Jack.

Jack, upon hearing the word victim, widened his eyes. "M-mom, I don't know if..."

Mr. Bauers chuckled and shook his head. "That was a joke, son. We're going to give you a simple, painless test and you can join the Society."

"The Society?" Jack looked up at his mother. "You work for the Society?" His mom nodded. "But what_ is_ the Society?" Jack's mother offered him a cryptic smile in response.

"So all you have to do is sign," Mr. Bauers continued, offering Jack a sheet of paper, "and we'll begin your assessment."

Jack looked up at his mother for approval and at her curt nod, he scrawled his name on the line. He followed the grey-haired man through the door he was holding open. He saw four tables in a circle and an object on each. One was a mouse, another a lizard, a third a raven and the last a crystal.

"Anything I say to you must be kept to yourself. If you fail, you must forget everything." Jack nodded slowly. "The first stage is an assessment by the objects and animals here. Each represents one of the four companies."

Jack was confused. "Mister, I don't-"

"Stand in the center of the tables, here," Mr. Bauers directed, pointing. "Now hold out your arms, palms down, and point them at each object or creature. Don't stop until you've gone all the way around."

The boy nodded, still confused, but did as he was told, starting at the mouse. Nothing happened. "Keep going," encouraged Mr. Bauers. Jack moved to the lizard. Again nothing happened. Still nothing happened with the bird but when Jack reached the crystal, he began to feel the same energy he had when he saw the woman on the plane. It glowed warmly.

"Good, boy, good! You may drop your arms." Mr. Bauers gave Jack a hardy thump on the back, pushing him forward into the crystal's table. "Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly. A series of many tests followed, including Jack simply playing with Mr. Bauers' dog.

When they were finally over, Mr. Bauers wrote one last thing on one of his many papers and put the pencil behind his ear. "You, dear boy, are a companion to frost wolves."

Jack, still confused, looked up. "Frost wolves?"

"Yes. They bring frost and snow and such."

"I'm still confused."

"You won't be for long." Mr. Bauers herded Jack back in the house.

Jack met with his mother. He remembered he couldn't tell anyone anything. "It was very... interesting. He said I am a companion to frost wolves."

"Is that so? I'm a companion to the Cerberus. I have a lot to tell you."

* * *

Joye sat down on her son's bed. "Hundreds of years ago, mythical creatures roamed Earth just as any other animals did. But they were hunted. Unicorns were slaughtered for their horns and pure white pelts and hair. Dragons were killed not only for their treasure hordes, but also for their glimmering scales and claws. All were killed because of the glory that came with the kill. The mythical creatures were declining. But one woman wanted to change all that. Together with a few friends, she convinced people that these creatures were only legends. How can you boast of something if no one believes the deed can be done?" She stopped and looked at her son. "Are you getting all this?"

"I think so."

She cleared her throat and continued. "These people were the first companions: people connected to mythical creatures. They formed the Society for the Protection of Mythical Creatures. And now you are one of those companions."

"But... what's your job?" Jack was intrigued but a little disbelieving of her story."

"I am a Trustee. I am one of the four leaders of the Society. There is one for the company of two-and-four-legged being and beasts, one for the company of reptiles and sea creatures, one for the company of winged beasts and one for the company of the four elements: water, earth, fire and air.

"As I said, I am a companion to the Cerberus and a Trustee for the company of two-and-four-legged creatures. That's why I move all the time. I have to be lots of places to be so I can be in charge of hundreds of people."

"What does this have to do with me?" Jack was warming up to this idea a little. He didn't know that he would be aflame with the excitement of the Society.

"You are a companion to frost wolves, which you'll meet tomorrow."

Jack grinned in anticipation.

* * *

Michael Bauers led Jack to the edge of a Dartmoor forest. "We are going to meet your mentor and your companion. I've met your mentor. She's a very nice woman. And very smart." They came upon a kneeling woman with pitch-black hair. Mr. Bauers cleared his throat. "Mrs. Maddox."

The woman jumped to her feet. "Eira Maddox," she said, holding out a hand. An alarm went off in Jack's head. It was the woman Jack had seen on the plane. He felt her energy again, energy he realized was connected to frost wolves. Eira had traded her red business dress for jeans and a hoodie, matching what Jack wore every day. He was always cold enough to wear the warm things, even on the hottest of days.

Jack took her hand. "Jack Overland."

Eira thanked Mr. Bauers, and he left. She put an arm around Jack. "I'm here to introduce you to your new companion. His name is Elmfloe. As it is summertime, there is clearly no frost, so I'll have to use ground ice-snow cones ice, really." Eira took a thermos from her backpack. She took some small ice crystals on her finger and licked them off. Then she let out a loud howl. Before Jack's eyes, paws began to materialize, then a nose, then the head and eventually the wolf was complete. It was pure white save its lips, eyes, and nose. The wolf was bigger than an average horse.

_Hello companion_, said Elmfloe, and Jack realized he wasn't hearing the wolf's voice through his ears but his head. The energy grew much stronger. _She has already told you my name and I know yours.  
_  
_Oh,_ replied Jack, _I see. Can I... could I touch you?_

The young frost wolf's laughter echoed in Jack's head. _Of course,_ he replied, _as long as I can smell you._

Jack cautiously reached forward to touch the wolf's nose. It was colder than anything he had ever felt, but it did not sting like ice did if you held your hand on it too long. It was a gentle, if freezing, fire. Elmfloe ran his nose along every part of the boy, inhaling and memorizing his scent.

"Remember," said Eira, "that one breath from your friend can make a person feel cold. Another will put them to sleep. And the third will give them frostbite. You, of course, are immune, but I'd keep an eye on your pal in case anything happens."

Elmfloe snorted, earning a glare from Eira. "I mean it, dog." Her words were harsh, but there was a playfulness Jack could sense.

Elmfloe stared right at Jack. _You want to go for a ride?_

There was no question. Jack swung a leg over the large wolf and after they shared a howl, they took off into one of the many forests of Dartmoor.


	2. Prologue: Merida DunBroch

**AN: Hey guys this is JazzinAces, the other author of this story. As Tyira said we will be alternating chapters, and this one is mine! Yay! I would like to thank the people who have chosen to follow this story, it really makes us authors happy to know people want to read what we write. I'm not so sure if I'm happy with how this turned out as I was given a word limit by Tyira *coughcough*killjoy*coughhackcough* but I hope you guys enjoy it any way. Please leave a review and tell us what you think. It can be as short or long as you want and so, until next time my lovelies!**

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_"Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed."_

_Joseph Addison_

* * *

The early morning light did nothing to warm the ground as the sun stretched its majestic tendrils across the water and up the cliffside. Dawn's light reflected off the water pinning an old stone cottage in the yellow glow. It was a rustic house located in the Scottish highlands with woods stretching far off in any direction. Alongside the cottage stood a wooden, two-story-tall stable and a newer-looking windmill. The wind picked up from off the water, pushing the blades of the windmill forward ever so slowly. The sound of birds and the occasional whinny of horses created the soundtrack for this otherwise quiet place. The overall atmosphere was of a quaint little ranch in the countryside. However the people who live there break the peaceful picture. The sun had just passed the horizon when a startling cry sounded from the home.

"Boys!" a gruff voice called out, scaring the nearby birds away.

The cry came from a certain red-haired man as he awoke to find himself hog-tied on his bedroom floor. As he struggled against his bonds, a brunette stared at him sleepily from her spot on their bed, and the giggles of the three fugitives echoed from down the hallway.

"When I get out of this, boys, I'm going to skin-"

"Fergus, that's enough," the woman said tiredly, getting out of bed and walking towards the helpless man. Bending over, she began to undo the cleverly tied knots. Once the ropes were off, they sat together on the floor, still trying to wake up.

"Thank you, Elinor," Fergus said while rubbing his wrists, trying to regain the circulation the rope had cut off.

"Yes, well it's time we get this day started," his wife replied, and with that they left to get ready.

Outside of the house and in the hayloft of the stables, a fourteen-year-old lay sleeping nestled in the straw with a blanket over her, undisturbed by the happenings in her home. Her face, though slightly masked by a head of frizzy red hair, showed the serenity she felt in her sleep. It wasn't until the horse below her started to stir that she awoke. Yawning and stretching lazily, the girl then smacked her lips tiredly. As she looked around she remembered where she was and smiled happily before clambering down the ladder. Immediately when her feet touched the ground the red haired lass was met with a mop of black hair.

"Angus!" she cried in exasperation.

Said black horse whinnied joyously before nuzzling the girl's head. Reaching up to scratch his neck, the Scot whispered, "Good morning to you too, boy. You know, today looks like a nice day. Perhaps we could go for a ride later."

Giving her horse a quick smile and a pat goodbye, she made her way over to the cottage for breakfast. Once inside her house, the girl was immediately met with a sausage to her face.

"Hubert," she growled, giving one of her triplet brothers a death glare.

Before the fire-haired girl could do anything, Fergus called out, "Merida! How's my wee lass? Did the hayloft serve you well?"

From his tone of voice Merida could tell he was teasing her about the nasty habit she had of falling asleep in the straw. Deciding there was no point in arguing about it, she played along, saying, "Why, Dad, it was comfy as ever, especially the rats that constantly crawl across my legs. The only horrible part is how I always seem to wake up with a blanket over me. I wonder who it is that does that."

As she pulled out her chair to sit down, Fergus and Merida shared a wink. Across the table, Hamish, Hubert, and Harris sat playing with what was left of their sausage. At the head of the table Elinor sat reading a book, completely ignoring her food. Merida shifted her gaze back to Fergus. She and Fergus had always been close. He was the one who taught her archery, how to wield a sword like the knights of old, and he was the man who gave Merida her own falcon to train. Through all of this a bond was struck, and it was one that neither thought could ever break. The fiery girl picked at her remainder of her meal having been previously caught up in old memories. She pushed her plate away and gazed at her parents intently, as I willing them to look her way.

"So I was wondering," she started slowly, "if perhaps I could take Angus out for a ride in the woods today."

"Merida you don't know what might be out there at this time of year. All the animals are waking up," her mother warned with a stern face.

"But Mum, I've always been careful, and Angus hasn't been out in ages. He needs a good work out or I'm afraid he'll get all big and chubby."

Elinor looked to Fergus who just shrugged. "Let the lass go, I'm sure she'll be fine," he said indifferently.

Merida's mother sighed and looked back at her teenage daughter. "You can go, but I don't want anymore of that whiny tone. You aren't a three-year-old, Merida."

"Aye, Mum, okay, okay. I'll see all of you later then," Merida said over her shoulder, already half way out of the house.

Back to the stable she went, still in her old blue jeans and her Sheryl Crow t-shirt. By passing the typical safety measures she went straight to the tack, picking up the heavy saddle like it was nothing.

"Ready for an adventure, Angus?" she called out as she entered his stall.

With Angus' whinny echoing in her ear she placed the worn saddle on his back, tightened the girth, and mounted. Running her right hand over his neck Merida whispered, "Let's go chase our dreams, eh?" And with that they bolted out of the stable.

* * *

The part Merida always loved most about riding was the feeling she got in her gut. When Angus made a jump she felt like she was soaring as high as her falcon. The wind that whistled by her face whispered secrets about the land that not many know. Today as Merida rode through the woods she contemplated what her life would be like living somewhere else. What if her father wasn't in charge of this beautiful reserve they lived on? Or perhaps, instead of changing what has happened, adding a new twisted factor to it all? It was with these thoughts that Merida soon found herself in front of the famous Fire Falls. When Merida was a young girl, Fergus would take her to see this magnificent sight every so often, but after a certain point they just stopped coming. Merida's face was filled with pure awe as she stared up at the Crone's Tooth, a large pillar of rock that towered next to the falls. The mid morning light shone brightly on the weathered monument of nature, as well as the cliffside behind it. Patting Angus as a sign to stay, Merida made her way to the rock pillar as if in a trance, her red locks bouncing around her. Tentatively, she reached up the rock looking for a grip. Finding one, she put her other hand up with more courage. Before long the Scot was scaling the Crone's Tooth. As she pulled herself up, the sunlight finally hit her, lighting the fourteen-year-old's hair on fire. Heaving herself up the final bit to rest on the peak of the pillar, Merida was suddenly caught off guard by movement in her peripheral vision. It was like the sun had been residing in the shadows of the cliff and at that moment had decided to shoot off in a ball of furious fire. A wave of heat swept over Merida's face, but she didn't feel like it was burning. Whirling around she was just able to make out a speck of light as it made its way around a corner.

_What was that?_ Merida thought to herself. Shaking her head, Merida moved to stand atop the rock. Moving carefully forward, the vermillion-haired girl cupped her hands, stretching them out to the fire that rained down from above. Her hands jerked at the coldness that touched them, but nevertheless she brought the cool liquid up to her lips. Smiling softly she threw her hands in the air and began dancing around, completely exhilarated by what she just did. Grinning like a madman Merida looked at the Fire Falls, a question still lingering in her mind. What had been the literal fire that went sweeping by her?

* * *

The teen arrived home just as the sun was setting behind her family's humble home. After putting Angus away, Merida ventured into the house. Just like this morning her family was seated at the table, except this time her dad wasn't there. Making a quick scan with her cerulean eyes, she couldn't find him anywhere, so instead she opted to sit down. As she filled up her plate she made another glance for her beloved father.

"Where's Dad?" she finally asked after several minutes.

Elinor replied without taking her eyes from her book, "It's Friday, dear."

Merida screwed up her face in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?" she questioned.

Elinor drew her gaze slowly up from her book. "Merida, what is your father's job?"

"He's a ranger, so?"

"And who does he meet with every week?"

"The council... oh," Merida said in realization. Her father was away at a weekly council meeting to discuss better ways to keep this land they lived on safe and well protected. Elinor just nodded her head and then turned back to reading her book.

"I climbed the Crone's Tooth today," Merida said after and while, breaking the silence, "and drank from the Fire Falls. And, Mum, I saw the strangest thing. It was like a meteor almost with the way it burned by me. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was though. I'm going to go back there tomo-"

"What's that dear?" Elinor asked glancing up from her book.

Merida sighed. "I was just going to ask if I could go out and explore tomorrow as well."

Elinor let out an exasperated breath. "Well you didn't get hurt today, so I guess you could..."

"Oh thanks, Mum!" Merida exclaimed, jumping up to hug her mother. Giggling like a schoolgirl, Merida skipped off down the hallway calling a quick, "Good night!" over her shoulder. Her mother just shrugged and went back to her book, while her brothers stared after her down the hallway.

* * *

The next day Merida rose early with her hair puffed up behind her, cheeks rosy with health and blue eyes bright with excitement. Throwing off her blanket, she quickly got changed and ran off down the hallway. Grabbing an apple, she waved a quick goodbye to her mother and sprinted out the door. Ignoring the need for a saddle, Merida mounted Angus with ease and off they rode into the woods again. It wasn't until an hour of riding had passed that the horse and rider once again found themselves at the cascading waterfall. Sliding off of Angus, Merida made her way over to the Crone's Tooth and started to climb it. With few difficulties and distractions this time, she soon found herself at the top again. Merida's eyes shone with disappointment when there was no sign of the fire she saw yesterday. Discouraged, she turned to climb back down the rock when she came face-to-face with a giant bird.

Merida stood frozen as their eyes connected. Merida knew this was no ordinary bird, for its feathers were a mixture of hues ranging from pale yellow, to golden like the sun, to orange like a fire, and down to reds the color of blood. The weird thing was that it appeared to have fire rolling along these colorful feathers. If the coloring wasn't enough to convince, the size certainly was. From where the bird was perched, the top of its head was seven inches above Merida's own. They held each others' gaze for what felt like an eternity, bold blue pouring into liquid gold, before the bird spread its wings and took off, leaving Merida alone on the rock.

The rest of the day all Merida could think about was the bird. What was it? Why was it there? And most importantly, what had been that strong connection, the burning passion that she felt when their sights had locked. When Merida got home she decided to look up any information regarding a bird made of fire. Back in her room the spunky redhead pulled out several books she had taken from her parent's room. The first one she picked up was considerably newer and was about all kinds of birds of prey, but there wasn't anything about the bird she had seen. The second and third were busts as well and at that point Merida was getting frustrated. Picking up the last book she studied if for a minute. It was leather bound, and the leather was old and wrinkly signaling that it had been much loved. Most of the text was intact, as well as the pictures and sketches scattered through out the brittle and yellowing pages. The final thing she noticed was the title. Across the cover or the book in neat gold lettering was written_ A Guide to Mythical Creatures_. Merida wasn't entirely sure as to why she had grabbed this book, seeing as it was about creatures that don't exist. _Then again_, she thought,_ nothing that I saw seems to exist, so maybe this is the best place to look_. Opening the book rather violently, Merida began skimming through page after page of the book. When she was almost to the end with not a single thing about the mystery bird she almost gave up, until her eyes landed on a colorful drawing depicting a giant bird on fire. Next to the creature in beautiful stylized handwriting was its name.

"A Phoenix," Merida breathed out her blue eyes going wide in awe. It was at this moment when she made the connection as to what was living at the Fire Falls that Merida made the resolve to learn more about it. And for Merida, that meant from first-hand observations.

* * *

The next day Merida rose with the sun again and practically sprinted down the hallway while struggling to put her shoes on. Snagging an apple from the table, she flounced by and planted a quick kiss on her mother's cheek. Skipping toward the door she passed Fergus who was making his way down the hallway and gave him an affectionate pat on the shoulder.

Fergus stared dumbfounded before calling, "Where are you going?"

"To explore!" Merida replied around a mouthful of food.

And so she left, back to the Fire Falls.

* * *

When Merida arrived today, she left Angus by a nice stream where he could rest and once again made the climb up the rough rock. There at the top Merida rested cross-legged while breathing in the crisp morning air. Glancing over at the water that seemed to be burning she noticed a cave right next to the waterfall. Merida gazed curiously and gasped when the Phoenix came shooting out of the cave, crying out a singsong melody. When the Phoenix saw Merida sitting on the rock it was apprehensive to land, but after awhile of just sitting there the Phoenix decided Merida meant no harm, and landed across from her. Merida smiled gently as she stood up to approach the Phoenix. Using the techniques for falconry her father had taught her, Merida attempted to get the Phoenix to allow contact. It was very risky but because of her father's skill at teaching her, Merida finally was able to get to where she was only a few inches from the bird. Reaching up a hand Merida slowly touched the burning feathers. The Scot almost jumped in surprise. The fire, instead of burning her, created a weird tingling feeling on the palm of her hand.

At this point Merida couldn't contain herself. She started to laugh like it was her last day, bring up both hands to stroke the giant bird's neck. Merida could feel the muscle of the Phoenix's neck stiffen, but she didn't care. Continuing to stroke the soft feathers, she soon felt the creature relax. Tilting her head up to look in the Phoenix's eyes, she again felt the burning passion, the connection, the need to be by this creature's side. It was so different then anything she had ever felt, even compared to Angus. Slowly Merida rested her head on the Phoenix's beak, breaking off the eye contact, but she continued to stroke the feathers. In response, the Phoenix lowered its head as well, shifting so it could nuzzle its head against Merida's cheek. It was then that the Scottish redhead noticed the pattern of jewels around its eye. Eyes widening at the beautiful sight, Merida brought her hand up to brush against them. It was like that they stood, each holding the other somehow, for the remainder of the day. As the sun was setting, Merida made one last stroke before drawing away, turning, and climbing down. Merida rode home that night under the stars, thinking about the Phoenix and what it must be like to fly and be free like the Phoenix could.

* * *

The week flew by like that day. Merida would go out early and come back late. Together the Phoenix and Merida would play and dare together. A bond had been struck between them and it couldn't be broken, not even by death. One day Merida decided to see what would happen if she got the Phoenix wet. It was a terrible idea. The fourteen-year-old had stuck out her hand to cup some water from the falls and, turning, had hurled it at the creature. Screeching in terror, the Phoenix had jumped off, flapping its wings unsteadily. Merida couldn't help herself as she chortled at the poor bird. With a very humanoid expression the Phoenix launched itself forward and picked Merida up in its huge talons. Merida's laughter had turned to screams as she clutched desperately at the Phoenix's claws. It was only when Merida said she was sorry did the bird set her down, a triumphant look on its face. It would only be later that they would do that again, only this time it would be filled with a feeling of great exhilaration.

Before that could happen, though, tragedy had to strike. As Merida left the house one day, Fergus sat at the table contemplating what his daughter could be doing. All sorts of horrible thoughts crossed his mind, the worst of which had to do with _them_. Fergus furrowed his brows. There couldn't possibly be any of them out in the woods, could there? What if there was? Would he lose his daughter to those... _things?_ These thoughts slowly dragged Fergus into a dark pit of which there was little chance of return. He wasn't going to let anything happen to his daughter, of that he was sure. Storming into his bedroom, he grabbed an old hunting bow and his quiver.

As he walked back through the kitchen, Elinor called out to him, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to make sure I don't lose my daughter," he called out roughly. With this last remark, he took one of the horses and set off into the green woods of the Scottish highlands. Fergus's face was pinched in anger as he rode. All he could think about was them. Those people... those tests... those _things_! Vengeance plagued his mind and when he finally reached the Fire Falls, his mind had completely snapped.

In front of him was a bush of red hair playing with a giant bird made of fire. It was like all the nightmares he had tried so hard to keep at bay were coming true, right before his eyes. Without a word, Fergus took his bow, nocked an arrow, and released.

The wooden shaft went right through the bird's heart. Merida turned toward to source of the arrow, her face a mask of horror. When her eyes landed on her father, bow still in hand, the horrified and saddened expression turned to one of anger and vengeance. Her eyes burned with a blue fire of passion and her jaw set in place by her anger. There are those who say the need for revenge will only fuel more revenge. They are right.

"How could you?" Merida screeched, tears beginning to fall down her face, hands clenched at her sides.

"That creature is evil, Merida! Mythical creatures, those _things_," he gestured to the Phoenix which was lying on the ground, bleeding out, "that aren't even supposed to be here. Surely you don't believe in magic, just like how I raised you."

"You're wrong. They aren't evil. The Phoenix was the nicest living thing I'd ever met. Much nicer than you'll ever be. And they do exist. I've seen first hand. You can't change what my eyes have already beheld! I don't care what you say or how you raised me, I do believe in them, and I do believe in magic!" Merida screamed and launched herself at her father. Fergus couldn't believe that his only beloved daughter had turned on him so easily for a creature from nursery tales. It was while Fergus was distracted by these thoughts that Merida managed to get a hit in on him. Growling, he leaped at Merida by she was smaller, younger, and faster. The fight went on like this, each trying to get a blow in, but either evading or blocking.

* * *

From beyond the fighting hiding in the bushes, a pair of eyes glowed. The green tendrils of the underbrush were swaying weightlessly in the breeze as if they didn't know what was going on around them. A low growl emitted from the eyes' location and a giant black paw stretched out, crushing the bush into submission.

* * *

The disturbance in the bushes went unnoticed by Merida and Fergus. Both were so focused on their fight that a train could crash next to them and they'd keep going.

"Merida, why can't you believe me? You've always trusted me, haven't you lass?" Fergus questioned while gasping. His expression was one of hurt.

"I did, until you did that. You saw how happy I was with it and then you take that away, because you don't believe in mythical creatures!" The fiery lass swung a fist at her father, only to have it be blocked by his large arm.

Growling, Merida jumped back and attempted to land a kick on Fergus instead. Once again, Merida's attack was blocked. At this point, both of them were panting from exhaustion. With the little energy she had left, Merida sprinted at her dad and jumped, feet sticking straight out at her father's chest. It would have been a perfect hit, except that a giant furry black paw swiped through the air and struck Merida down next to the dying Phoenix. The pain blinded Merida. White light clouded her vision as she struggled to cope with the pain well enough to see. The only things that made sense, however, were the clanging of claws against metal and her father's cry of, "Mor'du!" Blinking several times, the pain finally subsided enough that she could see what was happening. Her father stood, sword drawn, facing a gigantic black bear. Merida had no clue that black bears could even be that big! The beast towered over her father as it bared its fangs, roaring in Fergus's face.

"I don't want to see you! I'm not your so called companion, so just give up already!" Fergus cried.

Merida sat up straighter, straining to hear her fathers words, but it was no use. From what Merida could gather, it seemed that the giant bear was some sort of mythical creature. Perhaps her father had a connection to the bear like she did to the Phoenix. At the thought of the Phoenix Merida jerked forward, standing up and stumbling towards the downed bird. The tears started anew as her sky-blue eyes rained down upon the fatal wound. Blood was seeping out from around the shaft of the arrow and Merida knew that there was no way to save the majestic bird.

"I'm sorry," Merida sobbed clutching the neck of the Phoenix. "All of this is my fault. I'm so sorry. I never wanted anything like this to happen!"

Weakly the Phoenix brought it's head up to nuzzle Merida's cheek, but no matter how tightly she held on or how sorry she was, Merida couldn't stop the Phoenix from falling limp in her arms. The bird lay lifeless. Try as she might, Merida couldn't hold back her tears. She cried a river during those few moments, the sounds of the fight behind her completely out of her thoughts. All she could focus on was the gray color that began to take over the Phoenix's body. The fire drained out of the feathers along with the colors. It was like the ashes left over from a fire. Then right before Merida's eyes, the body started to turn to real ash. First from the tail feathers then up to the claws, the wings, the beak, until all that was left was the dead eye staring back at her. Soon that was gone as well, lost on the wind. The Scot wailed, and within that, a song was sung. This song was filled with sadness, agony, loss, hatred, sorrow, guilt, and this tune was sung with so much passion it could have shaken the world. Fergus and Mor'du looked over at the sobbing girl and the dead Phoenix, their battle momentarily forgotten.

"Dad, I don't know what happened between you two, but you have a bond. I can feel it. Don't sever this bond by killing one another, for it will hurt the one who lives as well. Please. It hurts so much," Merida all but whispered between sobs.

Fergus dropped his sword and sank to his knees. Memories came back to him, flashing across his mind in colorful pictures. Fergus wanted them to stop, but the memories kept on coming. A stone house. Four objects. The mouse that moved. Questions, questions, and more questions. Then a proclamation.

* * *

_"Congratulations, my boy! You're a companion to Great Bears! We had a suspicion you were, given your family's companion history, and you're lucky that a Great Bears mentor lives just down the hill. Why don't we go see him now?" an overly cheery, stout, bald man asked a nine-year-old Fergus._

_Fergus just nodded his head absentmindedly too caught up in his own thoughts to process what was happening. What's a companion? What're Great Bears? Would he get to meet any? All of these questions were answered when they reached a quaint little house at the bottom of the hill. The man knocked lightly on the door only to have it opened instantly by a large man with a scruffy beard._

_"A new apprentice for you, Mac," the bald man said._

_The bearded man grunted, eyeing Fergus closely, and then led them around the back towards the woods. Mac whistled and two gigantic black bears came trotting through the woods, though one was definitely smaller than the other._

_"These are Great Bears. They're a type of mythical creature that the Society protects. This one here," Mac gestured to the smaller one, "is Mor'du. He's going to be your companion creature."_

_Fergus and Mor'du's gazes met and neither could deny that there is a connection between them. The logical part of Fergus's small brain couldn't compute this, though. He was always told creatures like these only existed in fairy tales._

_"No," he mumbled, closing his eyes. "No. Mythical creatures do not exist! I don't believe in magic like this. I'm in a dream right now and I'll wake up soon. None of this is real. Make it stop. Pinch me. Anything! I want to wake up now!" _

_When nothing happened, he opened his eyes to see the shocked expressions on everyone's face. Fergus's eyes blurred with tears and he turned and ran away. That was the first and last time he saw Mor'du, but Mor'du never stopped following him, hoping that Fergus would recognize him before the bear died. For that's what happens to a companion creature without a companion. Eventually the creature will die, and Mor'du was at that point now._

* * *

Fergus looked up into the eye of the previously rabid beast. Now the bear just looked defeated, as if he had nothing left to fight for. Fergus choked on his sobs as he felt the connection that he had severed so long ago reignite.

"I'm sorry, my friend," Fergus whispered, his gaze now on the ground. Mor'du slumped to the ground beside Fergus and lay there. In the distance Fergus could vaguely make out the sound of Merida's sobs, but he couldn't bring himself to move. He was completely exhausted. It wasn't until he heard his daughter gasp that he looked up. The ashes of the Phoenix were forming together by some unseen force, and slowly from those ashes a new life was being formed. Fire sprouted from the grey dust, slowing forming itself into a new shape. Soon the Phoenix stood proud before them all, born anew just like in the tales, and called out. In Merida's head a proud voice sang a song that said _All is forgiven_.

* * *

Two months later showed Merida at the train station with her family. The spunky girl was to take a train to Perth before changing and taking one down to London, England. She had never been outside of Scotland before and she was looking forward to the adventure. In London she would meet up with her mentor from the Society with whom she would live with until she got the hang of things. As Merida got aboard the train, all the worries came rushing in on all sides, but she pushed them off with the thought of seeing her Phoenix again soon. Shoving her way to the back of the train, she leaned against the cold railing, waving to her family as they became specks on the distant platform._ Fate had been nice this time_, thought Merida as she sat in the train. For it had been and now she was off to experience the freedom of a member of the High Flyers.


	3. Prologue: Rapunzel Corona

**Author's Note: This chapter is Tyira's. Just to clarify, this is not a Hogwarts story. I hope you enjoy this chapter; it was tons of fun to write.**

* * *

_"All our dreams can come true, if we have to courage to pursue them."_

_Walt Disney_

* * *

**T**his is the story of how Flynn Rider died. But it really is a happily-ever-after story. This is really the story of a girl named Rapunzel.

It begins with a woman. She was pregnant. And very close to giving birth. One day before she was to have her baby, her husband was killed in a car crash. She barely had time to grieve before her child was born. The baby was born with heart problems, and died in two days. The woman snapped. Her whole world was gone. She needed a baby. She deserved a baby. So in the middle of the night, she went to the richest part of town and stole a brand new baby, just born to the Coronas. She fled in the middle of the night to a tiny town miles away, where her little flower would be safe from people that didn't deserve her. And there they stayed, for eighteen years.

* * *

Rapunzel woke up bright and early. Tomorrow would be her eighteenth birthday. A day that maybe she could leave town. Mother assured her that it was no fun outside of town, dangerous even. Rapunzel didn't care. She had to at least experience the world, dangerous or not. She made eggs and bacon before waking up Mother. She tried futilely to hint at it. "Uh, Mother," began Rapunzel, "as you know, tomorrow is a very big day-"

"Thank you for breakfast, dear," said Mother, ignorant of Rapunzel's statement.

They ate in silence for a while, Rapunzel feeling a bit snubbed. Mother finished her breakfast and stood to wash her plate.

"So, Mother, I was saying tomorrow's a pretty big day and you didn't really respond, so I'm just going to tell you: it's my birthday!"

Mother looked up. "No, no, no. Can't be. I distinctly remember. Your birthday was last year."

"That's the funny thing about birthdays-they're kind of an annual thing!" She sighed. "Mother, I'm turning eighteen, and I wanted to ask, uh, what I really want for this birthday... actually what I've wanted for quite a few birthdays-"

"Okay, Rapunzel, please stop with the mumbling. You know how I feel about the mumbling. It's very annoying! I'm just teasing, you're adorable, I love you so much."

Rapunzel felt snubbed again. She mustered up her courage, and- "I want to leave town!"

Mother looked up. "What?"

"I want to leave town," Rapunzel repeated, slower this time.

"Oh, Rapunzel, you're so fragile!" Mother exclaimed, her eyes widening. "And... and what about me? I'm getting old, and..."

Rapunzel put her hand and her mother's arm. "That's all I want for my birthday."

Mother exploded. "You are not leaving this town! Ever!" Rapunzel looked hurt. Mother sat down heavily in her favorite rocking chair, rubbing her temples. "Great. Now I'm the bad guy."

Rapunzel sat in a contemplative silence. "Mother, I... know what I actually want for my birthday."

"And what is that?"

"New paint?"

Rapunzel's mother knew enough about her daughter to know that she did not prefer the cheap paints in town. She would have to go outside town to get birthday-present-worthy paints. "You know it would take me hours to get them. Are you alright on your own?"

"I'll be fine," Rapunzel assured her mother.

"Oh, I love you very much, dear."

"I love you more."

"I love you most." And with a kiss on her daughter's head, Rapunzel's mother was off.

After a while, there was a knock on her door. Rapunzel opened it shyly, as she always did. It was a man. He had brown hair and a goatee. He was younger than anyone else in the tiny town, save Rapunzel.

"Hi," said the man in a bored tone. Then he looked up at the girl he was talking to. "Oh. Hi."

"Hi," said Rapunzel. She'd only read about young men. She'd never seen one as they didn't have a television.

"I... uh..." He cleared his throat. "I just wanted to go around and meet my new neighbors. I just moved in next door.

"Oh."

"My name is Flynn Rider." The man held out a hand.

Rapunzel took it. "Rapunzel Gothel. Nice to meet you."

"Rapunzel? You mean like the fairy tale?" At her nod, he chuckled. "So, uh... bye." Flynn turned to leave.

Something told Rapunzel not to let Flynn leave. "No, wait." Flynn turned around.

"What?"

"You've been outside town."

"Yes..." She could see the bemusement on his face.

"You have to take me out of here."

"Wait, wait, wait. What?"

"Just come inside!" Rapunzel yelled, ushering him in. He was still stammering in confusion. She began to talk quickly. "I've never been outside town. Mother says I'm a fragile girl and shouldn't leave the things I know. I have read lots of books and I know there are good things and people out there and I know it will be fun. Please, I know it's okay out there and it's my birthday tomorrow and I just-" Rapunzel took a deep breath. "I need to see the world. Or just the rest of England!"

Flynn looked dumbfounded. "Take you outside the town?"

"Never mind," Rapunzel said. "I'll see you later, Mr. Rider."

"No, I just need time to think." He fell into Mother's chair, ignoring Rapunzel's uncomfortable glance. "A road trip where? The city or the countryside?"

"Could we do both? And maybe we could walk? I've rarely been in cars."

"Walk? Miss Gothel-"

"You may call me Rapunzel."

"Rapunzel, I work out, sure, but I don't do that walking thing. I lift weights and such." He rubbed his temples the way Mother always did. "And we hardly know each other! But it's your birthday, you said?"

"Tomorrow," Rapunzel corrected.

He was silent for a while. "You know what? I guess I can."

Rapunzel jumped almost to the ceiling. "Really?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Come on, let's go!" Rapunzel pulled on Flynn's sleeve. So that's exactly what they did. Flynn ran in his house for some snacks and a survival kit and Rapunzel brought her frying pan. "For protection," she'd said.

They walked along the road through town which traveled along to a larger city. Flynn mapped out the route. They would not take the road all the way to the city, as it was a winding road. They would make a straight beeline through country and forest before reaching the city. Rapunzel for the first hour seemed very torn.

"I can't believe I did this. I can't believe I did this!"

Then, "Mother would be so furious."

"That's okay! I mean, what she doesn't know won't kill her, right?"

"Oh my gosh. This would _kill_ her!"

"This is so fun!"

"I am a horrible daughter. I'm going back."

"I am never going back!"

"I am a despicable human being."

"Woo-hoo! Best! Day! Ever!"

"Are you okay?" Flynn finally asked as she sobbed beside a rock.

"Mother will be so crushed! I have to go back."

Flynn considered the situation. They could turn around and he'd be home free for the next few days. But then they'd have to actually turn around. And Rapunzel would be crushed.

"Are you really gonna give up now?" he asked.

"Yeah. No. I don't know." She sighed heavily.

"Come on, Rapunzel. If you don't do this, you'll regret it forever."

"I know," she said, her tone still a sad one. "I know!" This time, her voice was firm.

Flynn grinned. "Let's keep going. But I was thinking we could go by horse."

"You have horses?"

"Uh, no. Borrowing some." He ran a few yards to a fence. Three horses were inside grazing. He opened the gate and whistled lowly. Two of the horses trotted over. "Here. This one can be yours," he said, grabbing a white one's mane and pulling it toward Rapunzel. He took the brown one.

"What are their names?" Rapunzel asked, trying desperately to swing her leg over the gelding.

"Uh... that one's Maximus," said Flynn, cupping his hands under her feet to give her a boost. "And mine's, uh, Commodus." At his oh-so-clever naming he grinned.

They rode for a while, stopping only when Rapunzel wanted to look at something. Flynn noticed she was very good with Maximus. She patted the side of the gelding's head when he did as she asked and she'd whisper in his ear, causing whinnies or snuffles.

"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" Flynn asked.

"No. Mother would never let me. Horses are dangerous, she'd say. But they're really nice." Rapunzel grinned and rubbed her horse's neck. "Isn't that right, Maximus?" The horse bobbed his head. "Yes, you are. Yes you are!"

Flynn laughed and patted his own horse's neck. It shook its mane, the fast-moving hairs whipping his chin. "Ow! Hey!"

"Oh, he just doesn't think you're a great rider. Have you thought to maybe relax a little more? Not hold so tight to his side with your legs? Or grab his mane so hard?"

Flynn grumbled as he relaxed a little. "Stupid horse," he murmured. He was whipped by the horse's tail hairs this time. "Would you stop that?"

Rapunzel stifled a laugh. Flynn could see she had a thing for horses. Could communicate with them, even. And Flynn had a nagging suspicion that she wasn't just a horse whisperer.

* * *

They tied their horses to a tree and sat on a nearby log. Flynn used a flint in his survival kit to start a fire. He and Rapunzel sat beside the fire and Flynn told stories of some of the things he'd seen as be traveled the country. She was fascinated, but he had to stop because of his curiosity. "So, why haven't you ever left town?"

"Oh. I don't know. Mother's really protective and she thinks I'm fragile and the world is dangerous. But _I'm_ not and _it's_ not, so... I just hope she understands."

"Are you really going to go back? You might go back to the same old stuff."

"No! Yes?" She sighed, putting her face in her hands. "I don't know."

The only sound was the crackling fire for a while. The near-silence could almost be called awkward. Rapunzel broke the silence.

"So. What about your life? No, no, let me guess. Your parents were rich and traveled the country like they were dropping just pennies."

Flynn avoided her eyes. "No. Not really. But you don't really want to hear the sob story of little orphan Eu-Flynn Rider."

Rapunzel rested her head on her hands expectantly and scooted closer to Flynn.

"Alright," he said with a laugh. "I was an orphan. The oldest in the orphanage for most of my time there. Anyway, I was there and then I was fostered. Then the foster parents ditched me back at the orphanage and so on. No one wanted a kleptomaniac kid. I stole candy bars, video games, all that." Rapunzel pulled her frying pan closer to her. "No, I'm not really a kleptomaniac, don't worry. But there was this book, the Tales of Flynnigan Rider. He was rich and could have anything, go anywhere."

"Flynnigan Rider?" Rapunzel asked with a grin. "What a coincidence. Your name isn't really Flynn Rider, is it?"

"Uh, no." Flynn reddened and avoided Rapunzel's eyes. "It's Eugene Fitzherbert, actually." He ignored her giggle. "And, you know, for a kid with nothing... Being Flynn Rider was better than what I had. And if he could have anything I wanted, so could I. I left the orphanage un-adopted when I was eighteen."

"I'm so sorry." Rapunzel put a hand on Flynn's shoulder.

"You can't tell anyone about this, okay? I have a reputation to uphold."

"Of course. We wouldn't want that."

The two chatted amiably for a while then settled down to sleep. Flynn didn't sleep until he knew his friend was asleep. Then he hissed slowly, softly, until a giant snake, bigger around than an oak, slithered from the forest.

_Hello, companion,_ Askook hissed. _What is it you desire this time?_ His tone held the friendly sarcasm and snark that Eugene's often did.

_I need a message sent,_ Eugene said. _This girl here needs to be assessed as soon as possible._ He dug a piece of a paper and a pen out of his backpack. He scrawled a note on the paper. _Take it to the nearest assessor,_ he instructed, _and if he can't come, threaten him._

A hissy laughter echoed throughout Eugene's head. _Of course._ Askook took the note and was gone.

* * *

In the middle of the night, a call was made to the policemen. "My daughter's been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped, ma'am?"

"Yes. You see, I left her at home for a few hours to get her a birthday present and when I returned, she was gone."

"Ma'am, you left your daughter at home alone?"

"She's eighteen! I expected her to handle herself!" The woman on the line was frantic.

"Okay, ma'am, okay. Do you have her birth certificate?"

"Yes. Hold on." There was a pause, and some rustling before the woman ran off all the information that was asked of her.

"And you have no leads?"

"No. Please. It's her birthday. She can't be kidnapped. You have to help me."

"I understand. We'll get back to you as soon as we can."

* * *

Rapunzel woke just as the sun hit the top of the trees. "Eugene!" she cried. "Up and at 'em!"

"Rapunzel, five more minutes!" Eugene moaned.

"No, no! Today's my birthday! We have to go to the city!" She tugged on Eugene's sleeve.

"Alright, alright!" Eugene sat straight up. They ate a quick breakfast, then jumped on their horses and made their way to the city.

As they left the forest, Rapunzel could finally see tall buildings. "Oh my-Eugene, look!"

"Yes, yes, I see them." He was still very tired, but managed to chuckle at Rapunzel's reaction. These buildings didn't really count as tall buildings compared to the ones he'd seen. But it was a nice enough place to grab a snack and do a little touring.

Rapunzel had her horse gallop all over the city. She almost got hit by a car twice. Needless to say, they stuck out like sore thumbs. They went to the top of the tallest building and looked out the window to observe everything. "Eugene, look at this!" she'd say, or, "Look at the cars, they're like ants!"

They left the tall building, and, after some touring, went to a small, almost-empty building. It had two rooms, each tiny. The man siting in a chair looked up as they entered. "Mr. Rider," he said, his voice too low and rough for the short, skinny man he was.

"Mr. Marks," Eugene replied, shaking hands with the man. Rapunzel examined the man curiously.

"This is our girl, hm? Rapunzel, was it?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir. But, what girl am I?"

"You are to be assessed. All you have to do is sign," Mr. Marks continued, offering her a sheet of paper, "and we'll begin your assessment."

She elegantly wrote her name on the line. She followed the man through the door he was holding open. Eugene sat in the chair Mr. Marks had left behind and waited. And waited. Without anyone to talk to or anything to read, he was awfully bored. He mused over what companion she'd end up with. That is, if she had a companion. Maybe it was just a special thing with horses, or maybe it was something more. Pegasus, perhaps, or centaur. But his thoughts blurred as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Eugene," he heard, then louder, "Eugene!"

"Huh?" He stretched, yawned, rubbed his eyes. "Oh. How did it go?"

Rapunzel grinned. "It was great! First he-" then her voice was muffled. Mr. Marks was covering her mouth.

"Remember, Rapunzel, nothing that happened in there leaves this room. Except-"

Rapunzel pushed his hand off. "I'm a companion to unicorns!" She stopped. "What _does_ that mean?"

Eugene laughed. He had a lot of explaining ahead of him.

They thanked Mr. Marks and left the tiny building. Eugene looked at his watch. "What do you say we grab some lunch?" Rapunzel seemed to consider this. Then she nodded. Eugene picked a sports bar. Rapunzel didn't mind. They ordered cheeseburgers and Eugene began to explain the history of the Society. Rapunzel listened very carefully. "Oh. I see," she'd say.

"So you're a companion to unicorns and I'm a companion to great snakes," Eugene finished.

Rapunzel nodded. "Yes, that's quite nice. When can I meet my unicorn?"

"A week or so."

It was then that their food came. The conversation switched to that of literature. It was mostly one-sided. Eugene's mind drifted to a basketball game behind her head. He didn't care for either of the teams, but it was better than hearing about _Pride and Prejudice_. His eyes suddenly flicked to another screen, which was news. It was an interview with a married couple who lost their daughter a long time ago. The woman was the spitting image of Rapunzel. "Hey, Rapunzel, doesn't-"

"Are you Rapunzel Gothel?" The two looked up to see a policeman standing by their table.

"Yes," Rapunzel said tentatively.

The man turned to Eugene. "You're under arrest, sir, for kidnapping Miss Gothel."

Dozens of exclamations against the policeman spewed from their lips. "He didn't kidnap me!" "She convinced me to take her!"

But despite their outcry, Eugene was cuffed and put in a police car. Rapunzel was put in a police car as well, but the cars were going different directions.

Rapunzel sat quietly in the police car, trying to take up as little space as possible. The police did not speak to her and she did not speak to them. The car ride was completely silent. When they reached the Gothel home, Rapunzel opened the door and was yanked out by her mother.

"Oh, dear, you're alright! Thank you, thank you!"

She was herded into the house by her mother, who sat her on the couch. "You must be absolutely exhausted, dear. Sit down, sit down."

Rapunzel sat heavily on the couch, completely silent. It seemed as if her whole world had crashed down around her. Her new best friend had been arrested and no one would listen to her. She was just a 'fragile girl', after all.

"Is something the matter, dear?"

"You were wrong," she said softly.

"Enough of the mumbling, dear, you know how I hate the mumbling." But Rapunzel knew her mother had heard. Her tone was cold and hard.

"You were wrong!" Rapunzel yelled, standing up. "About everything. I am _not_ a fragile girl, and the world is a great place."

"No, Rapunzel. People are dark, and selfish, and cruel. If they find even the slightest ray of sunshine, they'll destroy it."

Rapunzel ignored her mother and dashed to her room and grabbed a backpack. She shoved books and clothes in. Her mother was there. "What are you doing? Stop!" Mother moved in towards her daughter.

* * *

He sat in a cell, handcuffed. The woman he had seen on the news at the sports bar. She'd lost her daughter, and was the spitting image of Rapunzel. He didn't have to be a genius to put the pieces together. So Rapunzel wasn't Gothel, she was Corona. And her 'mother' was the real kidnapper. He hissed lowly again, and before long, Askook's voice entered his mind.

_What is it this time?_ came the joking voice.

_Really?_ growled Eugene dryly. _You're really asking what I need? I'm in a jail cell!_

Askook chuckled. _This is actually an improvement. But alright, if we must._ Snakes crept up the walls of the cell, surrounding Eugene. "Now get me out," he said softly.

The smallest of snakes went to the lock on his handcuffs and picked it with their tails. Others were simultaneously picking the lock on the door. Eugene rubbed his wrists in relief and dashed out the door. A throng of snakes slithered behind him. They passed a guard whose mouth dropped. He rubbed his eyes and they were gone, so he shrugged and continued his job.

Eugene dashed past the front desk and out the door, where Askook waited. He jumped on the snake's back. _Don't worry about being seen. This is important. Get me to a phone then get me to my house._

Askook hissed in acknowledgement. He slid through the grass alongside the road. They can to a bus stop, where there was a pay phone. Eugene put in his quarters and dialed the number of Mr. Marks.

"Hello?"

"This is Flynn Rider. I don't care what it takes. Get Rapunzel's companion to her house as soon as possible. She may be in trouble."

"May?"

"She's most likely in trouble." He knew Rapunzel would speak out against the idea that he kidnapped her. And if her mother was strict enough to keep her in one place for eighteen years, she might be strict enough to never let her see the world again. Ever.

"Mr. Rider-"

"I don't care what it takes!" Eugene yelled. "Do it!" He also supplied the address, then hung up.

Again he put in some quarters and asked for the operator. "I need the Corona family. The ones that lost their kid eighteen years ago." The operator directed him to the Coronas. A woman picked up.

"Hello?"

"I've found your daughter."

"What?"

"I've found your daughter," he repeated. Then he gave them her address. "Quick!"

_Go, go, go!_ he hissed to Askook as he jumped on his back. Askook moved immediately. Eugene watched the surroundings zip past. He found himself thinking, for the umpteenth time, that great snakes sure moved fast. Just as his thoughts concluded, he found himself in his backyard. _Thanks, Askook._

_You owe me,_ the snake joked. Then he was gone. Eugene ran out of his backyard and threw open the front door of Rapunzel's house.

And was met with a glimmering knife.

He fell to the ground, his face reflecting pure shock. His stomach burned with the pain of the stab. And without the knife still in him, he was losing blood fast.

"There," Mother said, tossing the knife to the ground. "Now my Rapunzel will have no reason to leave."

Rapunzel struggled against the rope binding her to the wall. "You are no mother of mine!" she sobbed. "And I am not a Gothel!"

Gothel growled. "Poor dear," she laughed, "you've lost your sanity."

Rapunzel crumpled, sobbing. "I'm so sorry, Eugene."

"Aren't you sorry for leaving, dear?" Gothel laughed.

"Wait," Rapunzel murmured. "Let me try to fix him. Then I will be your daughter. Just like you want."

Gothel considered this. "You won't escape?"

"No. I will do whatever you stay. I'll stay here, never leave. Let me see what I can do. I can bandage him, and... he'll be okay." Rapunzel's green, tear-moistened eyes pleaded with her mother.

Gothel tied Eugene to the stair post before letting Rapunzel go. "Rapunzel, no," Eugene said softly.

"No. It's going to be okay. We're going to fix you and you're going to be alright." Rapunzel ran to the kitchen and grabbed a rag. She rushed back to press the rag on his wound.

"But you can't be free. That's what you need more-" he breathed in sharply "-than anything."

"But I can't let you die."

The door flew open again. It was Mr. Marks and Rapunzel's unicorn. Eugene's eyes opened wide upon seeing it, but then they drifted shut. "Eugene!" Her tears started up again, becoming frantic. "No. No, no, no," she sobbed. "Help me!" she cried.

Suddenly the police were there as well, along with the Coronas. Gothel shrieked. "No!" she cried. "No! She's _my_ baby!"

"She's not my mother," hissed Rapunzel. "She stabbed him."

The policemen instantly got to work handcuffing Gothel. The Coronas examined their daughter carefully. Yes, they decided, she was theirs, but it didn't seem like a good time to point it out. Tears of joy fell from their chins to the ground as they observed their daughter for the first time in eighteen years. They dropped right onto Rapunzel's ankle-length, blood-stained hair.

But Rapunzel was too distracted to notice her real parents. The unicorn standing before her fascinated her. Pure white pelt and hair, eyes that matched her hair exactly in gold.

"Are you my companion?" she asked with a sniffle.

The unicorn nodded. _But you do not seem so happy, companion,_ it said. _I expected a much warmer welcome._

It took a moment before she realized the voice was in her head. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "But Eugene..." All she needed to do was motion to her friend.

The unicorn examined the man, shook its mane, and touched its horn to the wound. A scab formed over the wound instantly and a shudder of breath entered his lungs. "Eugene?"

"Rapunzel?"

"Eugene!" She hugged him tightly around his neck, almost crushing the life from him again.

"Rapunzel, I-ouch-" But his words were cut off as she smushed her lips against his. She pulled away.

"Oh. Sorry."

Eugene grinned. Then he cringed and clutched at his wound again. "Well, your unicorn did a pretty good job, but I probably still need medical attention."

Rapunzel looked up at her companion. _I can only do so much,_ it said. If it could have shrugged, it would have.

So Eugene was taken to the hospital. So was Rapunzel and her parents, for a DNA test. It was official. Rapunzel had found her real family, a "true love" as she called it, and a unicorn to top it off. She had a real home. She learned to drive so she could go wherever she wanted, but she preferred Maximus, which her family had purchased from the farmer. Maximus and Rapunzel's companion Acantha got along quite well.

Like I told you, this really is a happily-ever-after story.


	4. Prologue: Hiccup Haddock

**AN: Hey guys! Long time no see, eh? I don't even deserve to be here... Wow. Um... took me four months to write this chapter... that is unforgivable. I promise though that next week there will be a chapter by Tyira out on Friday and then one the next week by me. Once our school year starts back up though the updating pattern will change. I'm sorry that this chapter is so long. I don't really like this chapter at all. I felt so... strange while writing some parts of it, almost as if I was forcing the words onto the page instead of letting them just flow. Oh well what can I do. Tyira was mad enough at me for the lateness anyway, if she has a problem too bad! Haha... don't tell her I said that. I much like my head. I don't want to see it removed just yet. :P I wonder if anyone will understand that reference... Oh well onto the last Prologue chapter!**

* * *

_"Accept everything about yourself - I mean everything. You are you and that is the beginning and the end - no apologies, no regrets."_

_Henry A. Kissinger_

* * *

"Hiccup!" somebody cried out in anger, their voice loud enough to scare away any creature in the surrounding area. Deep in the woods, the mist rolled around the feet of a broad man who looked anything but pleased. Hanging before him was the very object of his anger. A scrawny boy of nine years struggled futilely against the bonds that suspended him above the ground.

"Once again, you've managed to mess up the whole hunting trip. This is the last straw, Hiccup. From now on you won't be coming with me again. Ever!"

"But dad," the boy called helplessly, "just give me one more chance. I swear I got something this time! It just got away is all."

The burly man's face hardened over with a mixture of fury and pain. "No. You've messed up too many times now, Hiccup. At this rate you'll end up in the same place as your mother."

All of a sudden Hiccup's green eyes flooded with sorrow and his face contorted in pain. The young boy stopped struggling and went limp in the net that held him. "Dad..." Hiccup trailed off as his voice cracked in defeat.

"From now on, you won't be coming hunting with me. I'll see if my friend Gobber will watch you and if not... I'll figure something else out." The bearded man cut the rope that held the trap in the air and Hiccup came crashing down. Grunting and groaning, Hiccup pushed his frail frame off of the ground. The boy understood his father's anger, but he just wanted to help! Why shouldn't somebody be allowed to do something if they wanted to?

With renewed vigor Hiccup started again, "But dad, I only want to hel-"

"No. This is the last I want to hear of this. I won't lose you to the beasts as well. Now let's go home."

The day they left the woods was the last time Hiccup would set foot in the green arms of the trees for six years. And little did Hiccup's dad know but it would be in those woods that he lost his son.

* * *

The bell rang its ear-splitting cry as a panicked fifteen-year-old ran through the school's deserted corridors. _Crap! How did I end up being late? I guess I should have paid more attention to the clock in the library. Those new designs of Gobber's were just too cool to leave, though,_ the boy thought hurriedly. Panting, the teen reached for the door handle and pulled. Inside the classroom he was met with the scornful stares of his peers.

"You're late, Haddock," his teacher, Mr. Agnarson, said, his voice filled with distaste.

"I can explain, Mr. Agnar-" Hiccup started, out of breath.

"I don't want any of your excuses, Haddock. This is your third tardy. Go take your seat and we will talk after class."

Hiccup frowned at his stuffed-shirted history teacher, but did as he was told. Walking to the back of the classroom, the teen heard sniggering coming from his classmates. Words such as "loser" and "screw-up" were mentioned quite frequently. _Well, this is going to be a wonderful last period,_ Hiccup thought as Mr. Agnarson went on to lecture the students about the importance of arriving promptly to class.

* * *

For the next hour, the students listened to their teacher tell the tales of King Arthur and his knights. Even though the class was supposed to be a history class, Mr. Agnarson spent a lot more time on literature than anything else. Finally, the shrieking of the bell ended the boring lecture. Students scrambled to grab their things and sprint to the door now that school was over for the week. As the teenagers practically leaped over each other to get out Mr. Agnarson yelled, "I expect a two-page summary of everything you've learned today on Monday!" Hiccup picked up his notebooks and shuffled discreetly towards the door trying to avoid his teacher.

"And where are you going, Mr. Haddock?" the grey-haired teacher asked, his back facing the ninth grader. Hiccup sighed, closed his eyes, and slumped against the wall. "Do you know what you get when you get three tardies, Mr. Haddock?"

"After-school detention," Hiccup answered glumly.

"Then you know very well where you will be shortly, correct?"

"Yes, Mr. Agnarson," Hiccup replied as he left the room. His dad was going to kill him. Of course he could lie and say he had been studying at the school library. Or maybe even say he went to Gobber's to work on some of his ongoing projects. None of these would work, though. Stoick could read Hiccup like a book, so lying wouldn't get the boy anywhere. Hiccup sighed, rubbing his forehead in defeat, and made for the cafeteria for detention. Opening the door, he saw the schools' resident troublemakers: Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Oh, yes, this would be fun.

* * *

By the time Hiccup left the school, the sun was resting just above the waters that surrounded his home, the city of Berk. The boy hustled home, and by the time he entered his house, he was out of breath. His dad was nowhere in sight so Hiccup placed one foot stealthily in front of the other. He tried desperately to make his way towards the stairs, only to be stopped the voice of his father.

"Where were you?" the low voice questioned, back to the boy.

"I-I was-" Hiccup started before sighing and confessing, "I got detention for being late for class."

Stoick stiffened though his face remained a mask of grim calm. Hiccup fidgeted nervously in his spot by the stairs, avoiding Stoick's eyes. With a quick move, the rust-haired man stood and walked towards his son, his shoulders rigid. Hiccup tensed in anticipation for what was to surely come. Putting a large hand on the considerably smaller male's shoulder, Stoick said, "I'm going on a hunting trip. I'll be gone for two weeks during which you'll stay with Gobber. I expect a full explanation of this when I get back, but for now I don't have the time or patience to deal with your mess-ups."

Hiccup gulped, his green eyes staring at the face before him. His father's rough face was taut with tension and exhaustion, his eyebrows creased in a deep scowl. The air moved fluidly as Stoick brushed past and Hiccup felt the warmth fall from his shoulder. The fifteen-year-old's eyes stayed focused but unseeing on the spot his father's face had been even as the man left the house. Snapping back into reality, the brunette stepped away from his spot and moved towards the worn, wooden stairs. He climbed them pitifully and entered his room, flopping onto his bed, which made a quiet whoosh, and fell fast asleep.

* * *

The weekend went by in a blur. Hiccup brought the necessary supplies with him to Gobber's house and spent the rest of the weekend poring over mechanical designs in his second home. By the time Monday came around, Hiccup had already reviewed most of the designs made by his now long-time friend. It was surprising that the teen was the one making corrections on an older man's work. Gobber was a strange mixture of a carpenter and a mechanic. When people had home repairs to be done, he was the man to go to, and when they needed absolutely anything mechanical checked up on or built, he was your go-to guy. Over the span of the past six years Hiccup had become the man's apprentice, until he eventually surpassed him, and Gobber had become more of a father to Hiccup than Stoick.

Hiccup dwelled in his memories of his and Gobber's relationship as his sneakers made light scuffing sounds against the cold tile hallways. Some of his favorite memories of the man were when he did dramatic recounts of how he had lost his hand and foot. Each time the story was different, but they never ceased to entertain Hiccup. One of the stories was that a great bear had chomped the appendages clean off while another said a griffin had snapped the bone clean through and flown off with the body part. A slight smile graced Hiccup's freckled face at the bonfire tales and he became so lost in thought that he forgot to pay attention to where he was going. His feet seemed to know, though, so they guided him on the typical path only to lead him right into someone. The consequential smack was followed by two thuds in quick succession of each other along with the crash of books scattering.

"I'm so sorry," Hiccup started out with a slight stutter as he scrambled to gather his things. With his books now in a relatively neat pile, Hiccup looked up while saying, "I was just lost in thought and I wasn-" He stopped short at the sight of the girl on the ground before him. Her blonde hair was cut choppily and the majority of it was pulled back in a crooked braid. She wore dark leggings with a red skirt that was riding up due to her sitting position. Her top was a skin-tight striped shirt of varying shades of blue and she wore black wrappings on her arms. Hiccup studied her, his eyes wide. The girl wasn't particularly popular but everybody knew her. The blonde didn't have a curvy body that most would label as sexy but instead she possessed a ferocious beauty. The girl's name was Astrid Hofferson and Hiccup had had a crush on her since the third grade.

"H-h-h-hi Astrid. Hi Astrid. Oh, gosh. I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention and-" he was interrupted as the girl stood up and walked past him.

"Watch where you're going next time," was all she said as she moved down the hallway, blending into the crowd. The awkward teen stared at where she had disappeared for a few seconds before regaining his wits and scurrying off to his next class.

* * *

At the end of the day, Hiccup hustled down the steps at the front of the school. Once he cleared the concrete steps, Hiccup began to traverse the cobblestone main street of Berk, slowly making his way back to Gobber's house. As Hiccup approached a street corner, a group of teens were lounging about on some stacked fish crates. Berk was known for its large supply of fish after all, not to mention the rustic style it had maintained. Many people were intrigued by the Viking heritage of Berk but not much made it out there due to the cold weather the peninsula often had. The beautiful iconic sunsets were often the only reward for making the trip. Hiccup sighed as he recognized the group of high-schoolers: Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Astrid.

"Hey look, it's fresh meat!" Snotlout cried out when he spotted Hiccup.

The twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut turned to look, feral grins plastered on their faces. Fishlegs looked on with a sympathetic look. He was never one to pick on kids, really, but he somehow still managed to be a part of the little group. The final member of the group looked on with boredom. Hiccup gulped. This probably wouldn't end well if he didn't get to somewhere safe. His brown hair flapped back and forth as he looked around nervously. He had four choices: back towards to school, a mad dash towards Gobber's house, try to lose them in downtown Berk, or the forest. The most logical choice was to run to Gobber's house, but as Hiccup looked towards the woods a nagging sensation became apparent in his chest. Taking a last glance at the group of teenagers, Hiccup made a dash for the woods.

"Hey, where are you going?" the twins cried out. "Running away like a sissy?"

Hiccup ignored the insulting calls that came from behind him. Instead he focused on running. On breathing. If he had looked back though he would have noticed the seemingly passive girl sit up, her interest piqued. It wasn't until Hiccup felt the stinging of branches hitting his skin that he realized what he was doing. Slowing down, the boy placed his hands on his knees and gasped for breath. _I broke my dad's rules. I should go back and just pretend none of this had ever happened,_ Hiccup thought as he calmed his breathing. If only things were that simple for the fourteen-year-old. The constricting longing he felt in his chest had grown once he entered the forest. Lifting his green gaze from the forest floor, he peered quizzically towards his left. A high-pitched mourning whine seemed to be flowing towards him as silk falls elegantly down a frame. Tentatively, Hiccup began moving towards the air waves. The spindly arms of trees wrapped around him, clogging the air and caused the corner of Hiccup's mouth to turn down.

Slapping a branch out of his way, Hiccup moved forward deliberately only to have said branch whack him in the back sending him tumbling ass-over-teakettle down a mossy slope. Hiccup sat up quickly once he came to a stop and rubbed feverishly at his watery eyes. Blinking several times, Hiccup scowled in disdain. The clenching in his chest had become painful at this point and he had no clue where he had come from. Based on the little light that streamed through the evergreen canopy, Hiccup guessed it was around five o'clock. It would be dark if he didn't make it out of the woods soon. Tearing his gaze away from the splotches of gradually darkening cerulean sky, Hiccup pivoted on the heel of his mud-splattered tennis shoes and his green eyes alighted on a giant creature that seemed to the be a lost chunk of the night sky itself. Gasping, the mechanic proceeded to flatten himself against the ground, eyes squeezed tightly closed. Cracking an eye open hesitantly, the Viking descendant peered quizzically beyond his immediate line of sight. There before him was a beast unlike anything he'd ever seen while in the woods. The biggest organism that the young Haddock had laid eyes on was a deer. Black as night, this thing was roughly four times the size of an average deer. Inhaling sharply, Hiccup pondered something. A beast this big shouldn't be just laying around for no good reason. Thoroughly bemused, it wasn't until Hiccup gave the being a second glance that his question was answered. It was trapped.

The splotch of night sky was tangled up in a mesh of ropes and weights cleverly designed by Gobber and set by the boy's father. Seeing no reason to not move forward, Hiccup gathered himself up and scurried toward the seemingly dead creature. Stretching his leg slowly out, Hiccup squinted as he poked it with his foot. The beast flopped over and that was when Hiccup began to distinguish what the frightening and heart-clenching creature was. Large wings, four legs, a long tail with a single fin, and as the animal opened its eyes, a pair of jade green cat-like orbs stared back at Hiccup. Seeing that the cat-eyed beast was alive, the boy scrambled quickly for his Swiss Army Knife. The portable utility knife was only kept on his body for the screwdriver and other tools, but for once, the knife portion could come in handy. Hiccup's green gaze flitted aimlessly around him as his elbows locked in place, causing the knife to shake uncontrollably in his grasp. The lime green eyes of the monster stared challengingly back, its eyes betraying the master's emotions. Hatred, shame, annoyance, self-pity, but overall an unyielding sense of awe-filled curious resignation. The beast narrowed its eyes at the scrawny boy and the knife before him, an unusual ache in his chest apparent. Realization dawned on him like waves against the shore. A sudden crash and everything changed. This boy who stood before him a shivering wreck was actually going to kill him. Never before had a human seen him so vulnerable, seen him so trapped physically and emotionally. Utter defeat washed over the beast of the night and Hiccup watched in slight awe and bewilderment as the creature moaned and flopped back on the ground, body filled with submission. Deep breaths did nothing to calm the erratic beating ache of the mechanic's heart. Hiccup knew he should kill the monster. The work of nature in front of him was a dragon, and dragons were the terrible beasts that Stoick believed killed his wife. Hiccup's mom had died at the claws of such a beast and so the belittled son wanted so badly to kill the magnificent dragon. He could make his dad proud, could impress Astrid and maybe even earn some more respect from Gobber, but as the fishbone of a boy was about to plunge the glittering metal into the creature's heart something stilled his hand. Call it fate, or destiny, but all that matters is that in that single moment, Hiccup's life became forever changed.

Friction and snapping disturbed the dragon's pitiful state. The ropes from Stoick's trap loosened as Hiccup sawed feverishly against the bonds, looking over his shoulder in constant fear that his father would suddenly appear. Glistening cat eyes peered anxiously down at the distressed boy. At a final snap, the weights and ropes became loose enough for the dragon to break free on its own. He did just that. In a swift movement the beast had Hiccup pinned down, all the dragon's previous anger boiling over. The black beast's snout pinched up in a snarl and the eyes which had seemed so defeated sparked to life again. How did it feel to be the one trapped? To have one's own life in another's hands? The dragon knew the answer and wanted nothing more than to make this feeble human pay. It would be so simple to just roast him or bite off his head and be on his merry way. He almost did it. Chomp and the frightened face of the boy would be gone, replaced instead with the sight of glorious, rich, raw, red blood on the green-grey stone. An ache, the very same ache that had filled Hiccup's heart, began to envelop the dragon's own. The snarl plastered on his face began to relate to his own feelings of self-loathing. He wasn't like humans. Nothing about him screamed pity. A moment past and Hiccup was still trapped beneath the talons of the dragon, feet kicking up mud in a feeble attempt to get free. Bringing in a deep breath, the dragon flared up his wings and let forth a concussive roar. Then, quick as lightning, he was gone. As Hiccup regained his wits, he saw the creature crashing wildly through the woods until it eventually fell out of sight. Standing up proved to be a struggle, for just as quickly as he did, Hiccup found himself collapsed on the forest floor again. It was going to be a long trip home for him.

* * *

Gingerly, Hiccup opened the decaying door of Gobber's home. Snaking his head of russet locks, Hiccup nervously scanned the area for his mentor, all the while gnawing on his bottom lip. The boy released his raw lip in order to let out a relieved sigh when his brain recognized the fact that Gobber was nowhere to be seen. Scampering quickly inside,he made for the stairs and was almost to the top when Gobber's voice stopped him.

"Hey Hiccup, I don't mean to be like your old man, but what took yah so long?"

The fourteen-year-old paused mid-step and pivoted his body to face Gobber. The expression on the older man's face was not so much judgmental but curious. Learning from his previous attempt at lying, Hiccup decided to go with the dramatic route.

"Oh, you know, just beating up one of dad's dragons and getting a quick bite to eat," he said, the sarcasm lacing his voice was a poison through wine.

Gobber's eyes hardened for the briefest of seconds, the change too short for Hiccup to catch, but then the blue eyes crinkled up in amusement and his lips broke to show a crooked toothed grin. "Oh did ya now? Do tell about this… beast."

Hiccup rolled his eyes before cracking a smile himself. "I was just at an after-school, uh, thing."

Gobber laughed and shooed the boy away while saying, "Aye, that's rich." Something about the way he held himself as he said it made it seem like he really meant it that way. As if he didn't believe Hiccup for a second. "Off with ya now, boy. Just let me know if you're gonna be late again. I'd much like to keep my head off your father's walls."  
Said brunette nodded curtly, happy that the lie was believable and moved up the stairs. The grin on Gobber's face stayed as his eyes followed his best friend's son, but quickly vanished once Hiccup was out of sight. Gobber knew the boy was lying about the after-school activity and beating anything up just isn't Hiccup, but a nagging part of Gobber wondered, did the boy actually see a dragon?

* * *

The sun rose rapidly the next day but proceeded to advance leisurely the rest of this restless Friday. The kids in Hiccup's school were rowdier than usual and the scrawny teen found himself shoved constantly as he moved through the halls. The bell at the end of the day was the greatest relief he'd ever felt. The instant relief was ended abruptly when the incessant nagging in his chest from yesterday returned. It happened just after he walked down the front steps of his school. Hiccup found himself keeling over as the pressure on his chest increased causing him to clutch at the green fabric of his T-shirt. He couldn't remember it being like this even as he got closer to the dragon. The dragon. Hiccup bolted up in realization. He needed to find the dragon again. Scanning quickly left and right, Hiccup noticed nobody that would put up a problem as everyone was preoccupied with plans for the weekend. Quick as a bunny, he raced off for a swatch of woods behind the school that connected with the much larger forest of Berk. Perhaps if in his haste he had paid more attention he would have noticed a set of icy blue eyes watching him from among a group of teens.

Astrid had seen Hiccup suddenly grab at his chest as if he was in pain and she just dismissed it. She wasn't worried. Oh, no, Astrid wouldn't worry about something as dumb as chest pain. It was when he had bolted up right and looked around like a scared little rabbit that she became intrigued. Astrid had always respected Hiccup's father Stoick and when Hiccup failed at hunting she had taken his place. If not for school she would be on the hunting trip with him. This being said, Astrid also knew about Hiccup's ban from the woods, and also she knew all about the dragons that only Stoick and the three seemed to believe in. So why was Hiccup running off into the woods?

* * *

Hiccup's breath became erratic the longer he ran but he kept following the tugging on his heart strings. Branches snagged on his clothes and vines cut his face but he continued to run until he met a giant rock face that towered above the boy like a mythical beast. Knowing he had to get through to something beyond the wall, Hiccup scanned the stone face for any sign of a passage. His eyes alighted on a crevice. Books from school still in hand, he pushed his way through the stone faces. At first it was dark but then there was a light, a brilliant light, as if the sun had come out after a year in hiding. Hiccup found himself on a ledge overlooking a miniature lake surrounded by high rock faces, the damp, cold crevice behind him. The sunlight was a beacon to the weary traveler as it poured from the orb sitting comfortably among the vast cerulean and white speckled landscape. A sound. A brief stirring in the leaves was all the notice he had before a monstrous shape blotted out the light. In the next instant the sun was back and Hiccup was aware of snarls and the sound of claws on stone above him. The scrambling was a painful nails-on-chalkboard sound. The sound stopped and Hiccup's green eyes watched the ebony blob warily once it landed on the ground. The dragon from before shook its head angrily. He couldn't believe that he was still stuck in this God-forsaken hole. The beast spat purple out of its mouth. It was a strange combination of fire and lightning and as Hiccup watched he began to wonder why the dragon hasn't done that to his head. Snapping out of his wary-filled awe, Hiccup scrambled for the cheap sketchbook he always kept with him. Snatching up the spiral book, the teen began to sketch the magnificent creature before him. He knew he should fear this beast and want to kill it, but seeing as what happened before he knew he couldn't kill it, even if it would forever shame him in his father's eyes. Hiccup became so absorbed in his sketch that his hands began to stumble. _Clitter clack smack._ The pencil which had previously been held with steady hands was now on the ground, and the closed jade eyes of the dragon had pivoted to fix the Viking descendant in its quizzical gaze. A sheepish smile graced Hiccup's face and he gently lifted his hand in a wave. The dragon narrowed its eyes and turned away.

* * *

The weekend flew by with Hiccup cooped up in his room until Monday rolled in on a bank of clouds and somber moods. Nobody likes Monday and the dismal atmosphere didn't help at all. Hey, at least Hiccup was noticed more at school that day. If you call getting called out by the teacher for daydreaming being noticed. The scornful laughs he received from his classmates weren't the important thing that day. In fact it was the very thing that drew his idiot classmates' attention that proved vital. All weekend and up through Monday his thoughts had been plagued by the ebony-bodied beast in the woods. The dragon had appeared stuck in the cove he found and from Hiccup's view unable to get food. Maybe he would use his spare change and buy a fish at the grocery store for him.

"Mr. Haddock. Again with the day dreaming? I will not warn you again."

A swift snap as a head refocused on the current task. "Sorry Mr. Agnarson," he mumbled, refusing to cast his gaze around the room.

A curt nod was all he received from the history teacher.

* * *

Luck was on Hiccup's side that day it seemed. Class was fast and nobody stopped him on his way to the grocery store. Before he knew it Hiccup had found himself back in front of the rocks that enclosed the cove. After a little bit of exploring on Friday he had found an entrance that lead directly to the floor. He slinked through the passage, raw fish held in front of his body. As he came upon the pathway opening wider Hiccup found that the dragon was nowhere in sight. Moving forward slowly, a low grumbling alerted him of the beast behind him. Hiccup turned and connected green with green. The obsidian dragon moved off the rock it had been sitting on and moved warily towards Hiccup, his nose flaring as it smelled the fish. The mechanic quickly thrust the disgusting food in front of him, breathing becoming slightly shallow. The dragon wasn't so sure of the peace offering, but after three days of no food he was willing to eat anything, pride or not. Besides the boy was pretty pathetic from the curious stare he was being given. One thing bothered the dragon, though, and that was the shiny knife at the boy's waist. The night-colored dragon growled, the somewhat friendly look gone from its elegant face. Hiccup had no clue where the sudden change had come from. He made incoherent noises until his hand fell on the cool metal by his side. He picked the Swiss Army knife from his waist and held it before him with the fish. The dragon growled more and withdrew into itself.

"No, no, no," Hiccup said comfortingly and in one quick motion tossed the knife away. It made a plop as it hit the water of the lake and sunk.  
Immediately the dragon sat up like a dog, tail thumping happily against the ground. His eyes had widened from menacing slits to friendly ovals. Hiccup held the fish out again. The ebony creature sniffed it and opened its mouth.

"Huh," Hiccup observed the dragon's mouth. "Toothless. I could have sworn you had-" _Snap_. The dragon's teeth appeared and snatched the fish away. Hiccup subconsciously cradled his hand as if it had been burned. "Teeth," he finished, his tone light. Toothless. Hiccup's stream of thoughts ended when the dragon turned towards him, the food gone. Slowly it began stalking towards Hiccup, a strangled gurgling coming from its throat.

"I don't have anymore," Hiccup said in fear as he fell backwards onto his rear end. He continued to scramble backwards as the dragon approached. The gurgling turned into a horrible heaving and half of the fish came back up right into Hiccup's lap. The beast sat back expectantly, its gaze flickering expectantly between Hiccup and the fish.  
The realization clicked in the teen's mind and he let out a soft, "Aw, no."

Slowly Hiccup picked the fish up. Eyes watching the dragon carefully, he took a bite of the raw, slimy, partially-digested fish. He nodded his head vigorously while making noises of false enjoyment. _Gulp_. The dragon made a swallowing sound. The fish flopped back down into Hiccup's lap and an exasperated look passed over Hiccup's face. Slowly and with much pain, he swallowed the chunk of raw fish. He let a shiver pass while staring at the remains of the fish and then lifted his head to give a half-smile to the dragon. A second of confusion went by for the dragon before it gave an awkward smile. The corners of its mouth turned up showing his sharp teeth, but the center seemed almost stuck in place. Hiccup's eyes became filled with a sense of wonder, and out of curiosity the young Viking lad lifted up his hand. A small sensation, barely a spark, passed in the air between the two, as if their brains would suddenly become connected. Before Hiccup made contact with the dragon, however, the mighty beast's smile fell away and he crinkled up his nose. In a flutter of choppy motions the dragon was on the other side of the lake, curled up. How could he have let himself make contact with a human? Sure he wasn't that bad, Toothless could almost say he liked him, but that tingling was something that scared him. Maybe if he just let his guard down a little… Jade eyes swiveled to lock with a set of hazel green. When did he get there? Hiccup lifted up his hand in greeting. The obsidian creature rolled its eyes and brought its tail around, unfurling the fin to let it block out the human child. Hiccup stared at the appendage as if it were a foreign person. He reached out to touch the scaly flesh but before he could, the tail moved and revealed again those piercing jade eyes. Hiccup hastily stood up as if he had been that way the whole time. Whistling a simple tune, he walked away and sat on a rock. The emotions played across Hiccup's face but settled on slightly bored as he reached for a stick. Carefully, he made a sketch. He was halfway through it when he felt a towering presence behind him. Hiccup tensed, but continued to draw his sketch.

Toothless had wandered over to the boy when his curiosity spiked. He had watched, his head moving with the motions of the stick, as Hiccup drew a crude picture of Toothless himself. An idea clicked inside Toothless's head and he sat back on his haunches before he waddled away like a penguin. Hiccup had finished his sketch when he heard a great rustling and an almost sickening snap, as if someone had just snapped a bone. He turned his head to be rewarded with the sight of Toothless holding a gigantic branch in his mouth. The usually bored eyes of Hiccup's widened in fascination as he watched Toothless start dragging the branch across the ground. The branch – maybe it had been a tree before – hit Hiccup on his head as Toothless continued to draw in the dirt. Finally Toothless sat back in satisfaction of his work. Hiccup stood up, mystified of the sight before him. To get a better view he started forward but quickly stopped when a low growl sounded from behind him. Startled the boy stepped back and the dragon immediately returned to a docile position. Hiccup looked down and stepped again, his foot landing on the crudely drawn lines. Another growl erupted from his right. He lifted his foot. Once more Toothless stopped growling until again Hiccup put his foot on the line. Toothless leaned forward, his teeth bared and voice vicious. Lifting his foot Hiccup set it beyond the line and Toothless sat up straight, content expression on his cat-like face. Hiccup sent him a warm gaze and continued to step, avoiding Toothless' masterpiece. Another step backwards. To the left, to the right. Hiccup spun in circles as if following a dance until finally he felt a presence behind him. The Viking boy turned slowly and came face to face with Toothless. Jade met forest. A hand was brought up and a charcoal nose crinkled in distaste. The bony, pale hand retracted itself and the evergreen gaze lowered to the ground. In an instinctive move, the dragon touched its nose to Hiccup's hand. The rough scales under fleshy fingers was a whole new sensation, and one that they would never forget.

* * *

For several days Hiccup continued to bring Toothless one or two fish, but he couldn't help but wonder why he didn't just fly away. If he could fly he could catch his own fish. Realization dawned upon him as he sat in the forge at Gobber's house. Gobber made all his own parts for construction. Believe it or not, he was quite the one for tradition. Hiccup had been staring at the sketch he'd made for Toothless for a while now, trying with all his might to figure out why he couldn't fly. The only odd thing about the dragon that Hiccup could see was his tail. At first he had thought he had two fins but it turned out he only had one. Only one fin... That was it! Toothless was missing a tail fin. Hiccup jumped up excitedly and bolted for the door to the house.

"Gobber, I'm starting a new project. I hope you don't mind!" he called in.

"I don't, but might I know what it is?" Gobber hollered back.

"Just something for school. Don't worry about it. I'll make sure everything is where it should be when I'm done."

"Okay, Hiccup," replied Gobber, suspicion reflected on his countenance.

With that, Hiccup began his project. He slaved all through the night on it. He was so tired the next day that he almost received after-school detention for the second time. His energy level peaked once he was running off through the woods with a basket of fish over one shoulder and his project in the other. Hiccup figured that Toothless was going to need more than just a few fish a day to get by.

"Here you go, buddy," Hiccup called out once he entered the cove. The fish fell out of the basket and Toothless launched himself at them. Once his face was thoroughly buried among the fish, Hiccup moved around behind Toothless. Carefully, he unfurled his project in all its glory. The leather straps seemed sturdy enough and the material Hiccup had used for the fin was very sturdy. It took a little bit of wrestling, but Hiccup managed to tie down the new fin to Toothless's tail. Sitting back, Hiccup didn't notice that the dragon had recognized the unnatural - or once again, natural - weight on his tail. Hiccup was completely absorbed in admiring his handiwork and it took Toothless taking off of the ground to snap him out of it. Unfortunately Hiccup's hard work was in vain. The tail fin didn't fan out like he'd planned it to. The pair was loosing altitude fast. Frantic, Hiccup grabbed the fin and pulled it wide. The two took off in a flash. Toothless was happy to be flying again, but why was the human hatchling there? The dragon maneuvered itself and flicked Hiccup off of its tail. Hiccup went skipping across the water and Toothless just kept going on. That is, until the fin closed again and he plummeted down into the water with Hiccup. Even if the experiment didn't work the way he wanted to, Hiccup was still ecstatic. He jumped up and down in the water while Toothless just lay there miserably.

* * *

When Hiccup got home he immediately set off to making a little something to help with the flying. He hammered, measured, and sewed. All the while Gobber watched silently from the door, prosthetic arm crossed over real. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Hiccup had seen a dragon. Gobber had always sensed something special in Hiccup, and now that special had changed. It was almost as if Hiccup had found his better half, a half of himself he'd been missing his whole life. Gobber snapped out of his pondering and went back into the house, leaving Hiccup to his own devices. Oh, what Stoick would think.

* * *

Hiccup held up the saddle with a smile. Toothless stared at the piece of equipment challengingly and then proceeded to jump away. The lanky boy sighed in aggravation and began to chase after the fleeing beast. Once the saddle was settled on Toothless' back they took off, a rope in Hiccup's hand to hold the fin open. Determination was set on the fifteen-year-old's face as he yanked hard on rope. The fin opened, but in the wrong way. The teen was sent flying forward off of Toothless. Together the two crashed down to earth.

* * *

Back in Gobber's workshop Hiccup tested the strength of the cord that would hold his newly made riding vest to the saddle. Satisfied, Hiccup took his new contraption to the lake where Toothless was living. This time he decided that it would be best to try keeping the fin open with a rope tied to his foot. While this didn't work out well it was the idea that mattered. Hiccup thought about this as he sat up from his dizzying fall. Now it was just a matter of getting back to the shop.

* * *

Toothless sat there eating merrily as Hiccup attached his final contraption. Over the course of the week Hiccup and Toothless had become surprisingly close. When they were away from one another the tugging at their heartstrings would return. It was because of this closeness that Toothless didn't mind Hiccup crawling all over him attaching the new device. Once in place the two moved up to a cliff where Hiccup attached them to a long dead stump. Using the ever-present wind, Toothless and Hiccup learned how to fly together. A sudden strong gust of wind ripped the pair away from the cliff and sent them rolling several yards back into the woods. Toothless stood, yanking Hiccup along with him.

"Oh great," Hiccup mumbled as he tested the connector cord to find it stuck in place.

* * *

For the week that Hiccup had known Toothless there had been someone else observing his actions, and that person wanted answers. Astrid Hofferson stepped with confidence through the lamp-lit cobblestone streets. She had stayed at school late to do some end-of-year studying. The particular route she was on took her through the town's outskirts, and as chance would have it, by Gobber's house. She was passing in front of the carpenter's workshop when she heard a clatter. She spun around, skirt fanning and book bag spinning. It was late and she knew older Gobber went to bed early. That left one option as to who was in the shop.

"Hiccup?" she called out, moving towards the building.

A series of clatters ensued. A mop of brown hair appeared along with its lanky body.

"H-hi Astrid. Hi Astrid. Oh gosh," he stuttered out.

A pair of blue eyes surveyed him carefully, watching as he smoothed out his work apron. "You've been acting strange, Hiccup. All this sneaking off into the woods, daydreaming more than usual in class. What's going on?"

Hiccup faltered. Astrid watched as he grunted and slowly slid up the window. The blonde's eyes widened as he finally disappeared behind the shutters. Rushing forward, she threw open the shutters. Empty. Hiccup was nowhere in sight. Slamming her fist down in frustration, Astrid turned away and continued home.

* * *

"Okay there, bud, we're going to take this nice and slow. Position three - no, four," Hiccup said, looking carefully down at his sheet of tail positions. With a click, they were off and flying. Hiccup tested the cord and looked back at the fin. So far, so good.

"Alright, it's go time," he mumbled to himself.

Together, the two dove down towards the water. The shimmering blue rose up to meet them in white crested waves before the dragon and its ride pulled up. The tips of Toothless' charcoal wings skimmed the water.

"Come on, buddy, come on, buddy," Hiccup chanted as they pulled up a little higher.

Hiccup squinted as the wind ripped at his face, cold and merciless. Jagged spires of rock jutted out of the waves before them. The very essence of Hiccup's small, home isle was captured in this moment. Harsh, brutal, but beautiful. Seagulls scattered when the huge beast came soaring through a rock arch. Hiccup glanced up at the sky. It was so blue and now covered in white specks of birds as well as the tufts of clouds that floated about. The Viking boy double-checked the fin. It was still firmly in place.

"Yes! It worked!" he cheered.

Shifting his gaze forward again, he pulled up short in order to avoid crashing headlong into another tower of stone. It didn't work.

"Sorry," Hiccup called to the dragon. They reoriented themselves only for Toothless to smack belly-first into more rock.

"That's my fault," Hiccup said. After all, he was the rider. He should pay attention to where he was going.

Toothless whipped his head around, managing to smack Hiccup in the head with his ear. The two seemed to be able to communicate with each other, even if they couldn't use words.

* * *

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it. Position one - er, three," the dragon rider replied to the wordless command. He checked his foothold and the mechanics of the device before switching positions. Together the two climbed. The pulsing of their hearts became one with the beat of Toothless' wings as they flew the feeling was unlike any other on earth. Together like this the two felt truly free.

"Yeah, baby! Oh this is amazing, the wind in my-" the wind ripped Hiccup's guide off the saddle, "cheat sheet!"  
Everything seemed to move in slow motion. The buckle that held Hiccup in place came free as he reached forward to grab his cheat sheet, and just like that they were falling.

"Okay, you've got to kind of angle yourself," Hiccup called to Toothless as they continued to free fall. The dragon just kept spinning in a panicked circle, losing altitude. The ebony dragon's tail came swiveling around just as they got close to recovering and smacked Hiccup away. The wind rushed past him and filled his ears with its concussive sound. Hiccup scrambled through the air trying to get close to Toothless. Finally his hand closed around the saddle. He shoved the cheat sheet in his mouth as he reconnected himself to the saddle and placed his feet in the stirrups. Both hands gripped the leather for dear life as he pulled up. Toothless spread his wings wide and they caught the air saving the two from impaling themselves on the trees. The paper flapped in Hiccup's face. Pillars of rocks spread out before the pair as Hiccup tried to see what position to switch to. Seconds rolled by. The paper flew in the wind, lost forever in the forest behind Hiccup. A click. Toothless swerved to the left. Then the right. They rolled and dove together as if connected since birth. Through the rocks and fog, they went until finally the sunlight broke through. Hiccup raised his arms in joy.

"Yeah!" he hollered. Toothless replied in his own way by shooting a ball of flame forward. The heat hit them in a wave. "Aw, come on."

* * *

"What happened, boy? You look like you've ran through a fire," Gobber asked that evening.

"Oh, nothing, just got a little too close to the forge while working. No biggy," Hiccup replied, chomping into his fish on a stick.

"Good luck explaining that at school."

"I'll try my best," Hiccup joked. A silence followed.

"You know, your father comes home this Saturday. You only have tomorrow left with me," Gobber stated.

Green eyes widened and pale skin turned pasty white. "I'd forgotten about that." Hiccup set his fish down. "I'm going to bed. 'Night, Gobber."

The carpenter watched as his best friend's son walked off down the hall. He continued to stare long after he'd heard a door slam. He was absolutely positive of it now. Hiccup had not only seen, but had tamed a dragon. And not just any based on the markings on his face. The Night Fury.

* * *

Astrid had absolutely had it. Today she was going to find out what Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was up to, and nobody was going to stop her. As it was Friday, her teachers deemed it fit to not give any homework so she fled the class right as the bell rang in order to catch Hiccup as he was leaving. She made it out the front door of the school but she was too late. Hiccup's back was already disappearing around a corner towards the woods. Most would have given up, but she was a Viking descendant and she'd be damned if she didn't uphold their stubbornness issues. Furious, she stormed after him.

* * *

"Okay, we're leaving. Let's pack up. We're taking a little vacation. Forever." Hiccup let go of his bag with a sigh. His father was coming back. How else was he supposed to deal with this besides run away?

He turned around but quickly stumbled back. Sitting on a rock was Astrid fingering a knife.

"What the-" he caught himself. "What are you doing here, Astrid?"

"I want to know what's going on. All the daydreaming, all the running off into the woods. You and I both know your father banned you from _ever_ coming in here, so start talking," she said pointing the knife accusingly at him.

"Um... uh... well... you see, I…" he started.

"It better not involve all of this," Astrid said, taking Hiccup's vest in a fist.

"I know this looks really bad, but the truth is I've been hunting. Yeah, making traps and stuff. Go ahead, take me home tell my dad all about his I'm sure he'd love to know," Hiccup said, taking her hand and as if to drag her back instead. He soon found his wrist bent back. "Ow, _why_ would you do that?" he called up from the ground.

Her foot stomped on his chest. "That's for the lies," she said and shoved her heel into his hand, "and that's for everything else."

She stood up and looked around the lake, scanning for any sign of him telling the truth. Behind her Hiccup stood up. A dark shape moved out of the corner of her eye. At this point Hiccup was standing tall beside her. Not for long.

"Get down," she called, tackling him to the ground. She grabbed her knife and charged at the black creature that had appeared. The beast growled and leaped forward.

"No!" Hiccup screamed tackling the knife from Astrid. "Whoa, it's okay, it's okay. She's a friend," Hiccup said, standing in between the two opposing forces. "It's okay," he said, this time speaking to Astrid, "you just scared him is all."

"_I_ scared _him_?" Astrid questioned in disbelief. "Who is _him_?"

"Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid," Hiccup said. The ebony dragon growled and Astrid ran. "Da-da-da, we're dead." Toothless merely smirked smugly and stalked off. "Whoa, where do you think you're going?"

* * *

Astrid ran through the woods, arms pumping as fast as they could go. She stepped on a fallen log preparing to land on the other side when a pair of strong claws wrapped around her.

"Oh, gosh. Oh, God," she screamed as she frantically gripped the large paw in an attempt to not end up falling. The ground flew past as she continued to scream. The next thing she knew she was flying through the air and left to hang on a branch. Toothless landed on the top of the tree next to her, Hiccup on his back.

"Hiccup! Get me down from here!" Astrid yelled at him.

"You have to give me a chance to explain," he began.

"I am not listening to _anything_ you have to say," the blonde snarled back.

"Then I won't speak. Just let me show you."

Astrid hung there warily as she contemplated a course of action. Using all her strength she pulled herself up next to Toothless. Tentatively, she climbed on.

"Now get me down," she commanded.

Hiccup nodded. "Toothless, down. _Gently._"

Ebony wings unfurled slowly. "See? Nothing to be afraid of." The charcoal creature took off from the branch and began climbing rapidly higher. Astrid's screams echoed all around.

"Toothless, what are you doing?" Hiccup yelled, leaning forward in his seat. Astrid was about to fall off when she grabbed on to Hiccup's shoulders, pulling him away from his position.

"What is wrong with you? Bad dragon!"

The teen regained his hold on the saddle and began his apology. "He's not usually like this. Oh, no." Hiccup watched as Toothless banked steeply, bringing them down toward the waves. The three crashed in and out of the water. "Toothless, what are you doing? We need her to like us!" Hiccup berated. The dragon paid no heed to his rider's words though and continued wildly. He ascended rapidly straight up and began to corkscrew.

"And now the spinning," Hiccup said dully over Astrid's screams. "Thanks for nothing, you useless reptile."

Astrid held on to Hiccup for dear life, her face against his shoulder and eyes closed to block out the mayhem. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Just get me off this thing."

Instantly Toothless calmed down and began to glide smoothly through the air. Astrid's grip loosened and she opened her eyes to glance around. Her eyes, two tiny blue oceans, became mystified by the sights around her. The clouds were painted pinks and yellows by the sunset and the water below them reflected the sun's golden rays. She extended a hand as if wanting to catch the clouds. The vapor trickled through her fingers like light. Blonde tresses fell back as she leaned freely in joy. The sun went down and the stars began to speckle the sky but the three still flew through the open air. Above them the northern lights flickered into existence. Purples, blues, and greens painted the sky. The Viking girl sighed contently and leaned her head against Hiccup's shoulder. They flew through the towering spires of rock that surrounded Berk. The stone faces of their ancestors were lit with fire that night that was reflected in the crashing foam below. The outcrop that Berk rested on was peaceful, something that couldn't normally be said about it.

"Alright, I admit it. This is pretty cool," she said. "It's amazing. He's amazing."

She reached down and rubbed Toothless affectionately. Even if she was quite taken by Toothless she still felt some amount of strange hatred. She'd figure it out eventually, she supposed, but for now she wanted to enjoy the moment.

"Hiccup, what are you going to do? You know your dad is coming back tomorrow. How are you going to keep him a secret? Your dad," she lowered her voice to whisper in his ear, "hunts dragons. There's no way he won't find him in the woods."

"I know. I can't let anything happen to Toothless. I feel like if I lose him, I lose myself. I probably sound stupid to you, but it's true. When I found him tangled in my dad's trap I knew I needed to kill him. Everything in my body said, 'Kill it. You'll make your dad proud. You'll have freedom again.' But my heart said no. 'Kill him and you kill yourself.'"

"If it makes any difference, I won't tell your dad. I'll help in any way I can."

"Thanks, that means a lot."

Conversation gave way to serene silence and together they flew home.

* * *

Hiccup woke early the next day in order to feed Toothless. He figured this was the best way to feed the dragon. As he crept out of the house he double checked that Gobber was still snoring away in his room. Then, quick as a rabbit, he left the house. Might as well get as much time in with his best friend before it could all come crashing down.

* * *

A shadow fell over Gobber as he sat at the table drinking his morning cup of coffee. A big hulking figure entered the room and pulled a chair out from under the table. The carpenter stood up and grabbed another mug from a cupboard and poured the figure a cup of coffee.

"So, how was the hunting trip? Did you get anything?" Gobber asked, taking a gulp of his coffee.

A bag landed on the table, opening just wide enough for its contents to be visible. Nothing.

"Oh. Bad trip then, eh?" Gobber asked trying to lighten the mood.

"You could say that," Stoick replied.

"Ah, well you should know that Hiccup's been a lot better. Been working in the shop a lot. Given him lots of time to think. Not to mention his staying late after school to study 'n' stuff. Boy's gotten motivated. I swear every day he comes home and tells me some tall tale about a new adventure he went on. I think he's even gotten a handle on that little girl of his. Your little pupil Astrid. He came home last night swooning all over the place!"

Stoick nodded, his mood slightly lightening. "That's good to hear. Where is he now?"

Gobber paused with his mug halfway to his mouth. "Uh, I don't know actually. Wasn't here when I woke up. I figured he must've gone off to the library or something. He's a smart kid, ya know."

As much as Stoick would have wanted to believe Gobber, something wasn't sitting right with him. Gobber was always a late riser so it was easy to see how Hiccup could have gotten out before him, but why would Hiccup leave when he knew Stoick was coming back? The red-haired man stood up abruptly, almost knocking his chair over in the process, and made for the door.

"Where are you going now?" Gobber asked. "It's still early!"

"I'm going to find my son," Stoick said, "and Gobber, it's 11:25 in the morning." The conversation ended with a slam of the door.

* * *

Astrid was woken by the sound of someone banging on the door. Groaning, she covered her head with her pillow but when the banging persisted she got up, put a robe on, and made her way downstairs. She passed by a clock during her trip a sneaked a peak at the time 1:07 pm. Who would dare to wake her up so early? Stupid teenage hormones. Yawning, she opened the door.

"Mr. Haddock! What are you doing here?" she questioned.

"Astrid, I'm looking for Hiccup. Have you seen him?" the man responded with a question of his own.

She just looked at him. It was a look that asked "Are you stupid? Do I look like I know where he is?" Instead of saying that though she politely gestured to herself. "Sorry, but I don't think I look like I would know anything. Check the library. He loves it there."

Stoick ignored the girl's snarky remarks. "I already did, but he wasn't there. I've looked around all the usual places but I can't find him."

Astrid sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face in the process. "Well, maybe he broke your rule and went off into the woods. I'm sorry Mr. Haddock but I really don't know. If I did, I'd tell you."

Stoick stiffened at her teasing comment. Hiccup wouldn't do that… would he? Astrid realized her mistake too late.

"Wait, uh, Mr. Haddock there is _no_ way Hiccup would do that. Hey!" she called out to the retreating figure. She knew she needed to do something, and fast. Slamming the door shut she raced upstairs to get ready for some forest exploration.

* * *

Long after Stoick had left, Gobber sat at the table, thinking. Hiccup was a companion, of this he had no doubt, and that girl, Astrid, seemed like one as well. The only problem was his best friend. Gobber knew where Hiccup and his dragon were and he had a sinking feeling that his friend would find out soon as well. When that happened it would be as if the gates of Hell itself where opening. Gobber realized that he was going to have to stop the two before anything serious happened. With a sigh, Gobber turned his gaze towards the window. The sun was already setting. Hopefully Stoick hadn't found Hiccup just yet.

* * *

Astrid huffed as she raced through the woods towards the lake. Several times she almost fell and she knew she'd have some major bruises in the morning, but she didn't care. All that was on her mind right now was warning Hiccup. At last she burst through the undergrowth and into the cove. Scanning quickly, she found Hiccup and Toothless just lying together. Mustering the last of her energy, she sprinted over to the pair where she finally collapsed.

"Hiccup," she panted, "your dad. He's back and he's looking for you. You and Toothless have got to leave. I don't know what he'd do if he-"

"Found his son and pupil all friendly with a dragon? Yes, I wonder what he'd do as well," a gruff voice came from behind Astrid.

The girl froze in place, a hand over her heart to calm the beating. Toothless had stood up, his wings now flaring and his face a mask of anger. Hiccup stood beside the dragon, eyes wide in fear as he stared at his father.

"Dad…" he whispered.

"Move, Hiccup. Take Astrid and leave. This beast," he spat the word _beast,_ "is _mine_."

A presence invaded the back of Hiccup's mind. It was like another person, another being, was worming its way into Hiccup's thoughts.

_Don't leave me,_ it seemed to say. The voice sounded ancient, as if it hadn't been used in ages, but at the same time young and playful. It sounded like…

"Toothless…" Hiccup muttered.

"What did you say?" his father asked.

"Toothless. His name is Toothless and he's my friend. I won't let you hurt him. If you want him you'll have to go through me."

"And me," Astrid's voice chimed in. She stood up, fully recovered from her run, and positioned herself so she was shielding Toothless.

"You two really think you can defy me? That thing is the devil's spawn! It doesn't deserve to live. Hiccup, they killed your mother. How can you even stand living if you're living to protect one?" Stoick questioned, anguish in his voice.

"Because it's his companion," a new voice interrupted. Three heads turned to look at Gobber as he hobbled in. "You can't kill the dragon, Stoick, or you run the risk of losing your son. Is revenge really more important than life?"

The last rays of sunlight faded in that instant leaving only the moonlight to illuminate the encounter. Stars reared their shiny heads into existence one by one. Nobody dared move, the weight of the questions affecting them all. For what seemed like hours, they all stood there, barely moving.

"No, it isn't," Stoick said shattering the silence. He slumped to the ground and stared at the sky. A few specks of light shot across the expanse of black, like bullets. A meteor shower. Everyone turned to stare at the pinpoints of light that began to blanket the night sky. Suddenly a much brighter one appeared. It was redder than the others, and it didn't seem to be as high, nor going in the same direction. Instead it seemed to be heading right at them…

"Move!" Astrid screamed at them. The meteor crashed on the far side of the lake. Everything in its vicinity was either crushed or burning, neither of which was a good thing.

"We've got to put out that fire," Hiccup said, mounting Toothless.

"Wait. That wasn't a meteor," Gobber said. His eyes filled with worry, something you rarely see on such a man.

"Well, what was it then?" Stoick asked.

"A dragon." Four sets of eyes trained themselves on the crater left by the crash, and four eyes widened in fear as a gigantic creature unfolded itself from the hole.

"What is that?" Astrid whispered.

"It's called the Green Death. It's one of the Legendary Dragons, just like the Night Fury over there," Gobber gestured. "They say it has an unsustainable appetite. Back in ancient lore it was said to eat whole villages in a night. No doubt that still holds true." When Gobber finished explaining all heads turned back to the beast.

"That means that…Oh, no. It's going to destroy Berk!" Astrid cried. The two adults nodded their heads in agreement.

"No, it's not. I'm going to kill that thing. I won't let anyone in our town get hurt," Hiccup said, his eyes showing an unrivaled determination. In one gust of wind, Toothless and Hiccup took off. Three pairs of eyes watched in fear and fascination as the companions dove head first into an unwinnable battle.

"Alright, buddy let's do this." Hiccup and Toothless flew high, observing the recovering beast. From the looks of it the creature relied on hearing and smell, not on eyesight. It appeared unable to fly due to its large body size, but a pair of wings rested snugly on its back.

"That thing has wings. Huh. Alright, let's see if he can use them!" Hiccup cheered to Toothless.

Toothless screeched in agreement and together they dove. A shrill whistling sound was all the notice the beast had before it was hit by purple flames. The dragon roared and swiveled its mighty head to search for the one responsible. Its eyes landed on the only flying beast in the sky. With great effort, the Green Death opened its wings and lifted off the ground.

"Alright, so he can fly. You got any ideas, bud?" Hiccup asked.

Hiccup felt a mental shrug from Toothless. "Figures," Hiccup mumbled.

The two zoomed off into the sky as the Green Death pursued them. A burst of fire shot by them but they were able to avoid getting burned. Still they climbed higher. Hiccup and Toothless maneuvered around to avoid another burst of fire. It was then that Hiccup got an idea. He urged Toothless forward and the Night Fury shot another blast of fire at the gigantic dragon. In a fit of rage, the creature shot fire in an arc around itself.

"Come on, buddy, come on!" Hiccup chanted. They tried to avoid the flames but Toothless' tail got caught up in the onslaught. "Okay, time's up. Let's see if this works."

A black blob shot towards the ground followed quickly by the Green Death.

"It's okay, bud," yelled Hiccup over the fierce wind. "Just hold on a little longer."

Toothless seemed panicked but nonetheless listened to Hiccup. By now the tail fin was mostly burnt up. Hiccup heard a loud suction sound from behind him but still chanted, "Hold."

Finally when it seemed down to the last possible second Hiccup let go. "Now!" he shouted. Toothless whirled around and shot a burst of flames at the giant cloud of gas in the Green Death's mouth. It caught instantly. The ground was almost upon them now. Toothless spread his wings and was swept away from the beast but they weren't in the clear yet. Hiccup tried to change position but the fin was fully fried. A loud crash echoed from below and flames were gaining on them fast. They were almost there. _Smack._ The great clobber-like tail wacked Hiccup out of his seat. Toothless faltered and screeched for his lost friend. He turned and followed Hiccup towards the ground and into the inferno.

* * *

The three pairs of eyes that had watched in awe were now accompanied by three voices, all shouting, "Hiccup!" Astrid, Gobber, and Stoick all searched around the crash site of the Green Death but nothing. The two blondes stood together in defeat, their eyes downcast. Stoick refused to give up, though. At long last, through the dust that clouded the air, he spotted a black blob.

"Hiccup!" he shouted.

The father rushed forward and knelt on the ground before Toothless. The dragon was curled into itself, a scorched wire winding its way down the charcoal body.

"Hiccup," Stoick sobbed. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have. Maybe then Hiccup would still be…"

Toothless watched with cold, calculating jade eyes. In a swift motion he unfolded his wings revealing his paws in which was the unconscious body of Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" Stoick shouted. He picked up his son and cradled him to his chest. "You brought him back alive."

Gobber and Astrid approached from behind and watched as Stoick held his son close. Astrid brought her hands to her mouth.

"Yeah well, most of him, anyway," Gobber said.

* * *

Hiccup woke up to a pair of Jade eyes staring playfully at him. "Oh, hey, bud what are you - oof." Hiccup gasped as Toothless landed on his stomach. His forest green eyes quickly scanned his surroundings.

"I'm in my room. _You're_ in my room. You've got to go; my dad will kill you if he sees you!" Hiccup shouted at the dragon lounging in his rafters. Sighing, Hiccup moved to get out of bed only to pause. Toothless jumped down and approached the bed, a purr sounding from his throat while a breath escaped Hiccup's. He stood up and tried to take a step only to stumble. Toothless caught him, preventing him from hitting the ground.

"Thanks, bud."

Together the two left Hiccup's room, one without a leg and one without a tail.

A chorus of cheerful voices greeted him as he entered his living room. Standing there was Gobber, Stoick, and Astrid, all looking very relieved to see Hiccup was awake.

"I'm sorry, son. All this time I've been too hard on you. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I let my needs get ahead of yours. That's not how a father is supposed to act. But I'm not going to be your father figure for very much longer. Now I'm handing you over to someone I know I can trust to keep an eye on you. He's a great guy," Stoick said. He rested his hand on Hiccup's shoulder as if saying goodbye.

"Damn right I'm a good father figure! I swear, I practically raised the boy half his life," Gobber joked from behind the father and son.

"Wait, what's going on?" Hiccup asked. Everyone else in the room seemed to understand the circumstances but the teenager was totally lost.

"You and little miss Astrid over here are gonna come with me. Both of you are going to be part of the Society! It's pretty obvious what your companion creature is but I'm not so sure about Astrid, although I have my suspicions," Gobber exclaimed.

"The what?" Hiccup questioned.

Astrid approached Hiccup. "We'll explain it all on the way. Bottom line is, we're leaving Berk." She stopped talking and took a step back. Raising her arm she balled her hand and punched. "That's for worrying me," she snapped. Hiccup looked at her confused but his face soon turned to shock and bewilderment when she stepped forward, grabbed his shirt, and pressed her lips against his. "And that's for everything else."

"We're going to leave once you two get out of school. Watch yourself Hiccup, you don't want to be messing with that leg too much," Gobber said.

"I'll make sure to be careful," Hiccup replied.

"Oh also, here I made this for you. Figured you'd need a replacement," Gobber said handing over a bundle. Hiccup unwrapped it and looked at the red fin.

"Thanks, Gobber."

"No problem. Anything for the hero of the town. Everybody believes that you saved them from destruction by forest fire. Keep it that way. Now enjoy your last few weeks in Berk."

Hiccup smiled. Of course he would. As long as he was with Toothless nothing could go wrong.


	5. Chapter 1: Tintagel

**AN: Well, as this is an odd-numbered chapter, Tyira wrote this. I really liked writing the animosity here, and I hope you guys get a laugh out of it every so often. Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated!**

* * *

_"Each meeting occurs at the precise moment for which it was meant. Usually, when it will have the greatest impact on our lives."_

_Nadia Scrieva_

* * *

Jack sat in the back of the car, trying futilely to ignore Eira and her brother Leon's incessant bickering. The seventeen-year-old stared out the window, head resting in the palm of his hand, and thought about the past years of his life. He had moved in with his mentor and her brother when he was thirteen. His family had to move on again, but Jack still needed his mentor, so he'd stayed.

This would be his sixth Tintagel. Tintagel was the yearly celebration of the Society, occurring every year on the fifth of November. A different company hosted every year. This year, Tintagel was being hosted by the High Flyers, which was the company of winged beasts. They would choose the location and put on the entertainment for the night. This year they'd chosen the side of a mountain. _Kind of an inconvenient location, isn't it?_ he thought.

Eira and Leon's 'conversation' got louder and they began to pepper their sentences with profanities. Jack squeezed his eyes shut and inwardly groaned. Don't get him wrong, Jack cared about his second family, but they sure could be annoying at times.

Time flew by after Jack somehow managed to tune out the adults in front of him until before he knew it they had made it to the spot where Tintagel would be held. No "normal" people were anywhere in sight. As today was Guy Fawkes Day, no one would even care if a group of folks gathered on the mountain to dance and sing around a giant fire like a bunch of lunatics. The three unloaded and made for the large group of people. They were late, of course. Just as they rushed into their groups of respective companies, a hush fell over the crowd.

"Welcome to this year's Tintagel!" yelled a woman through a megaphone, standing on a wooden dais. "I'm Nixxy Douglas, and I'm the leader of a chapter up north-ish." A cheer erupted, scattered artistically around the crowd. "Yeah, those folks are mine." She cleared her throat. "This year the High Flyers host Tintagel. So we'll begin with a creative little show choreographed by my chapter's griffin companion Astrid Hofferson."

Jack watched the show half-heartedly. This wasn't his first rodeo. The High Flyers always did an aerial show. It's easy to see why, but in Jack's honest opinion they needed to shake it up a little. Jack snapped out of his daze to find that the girl, Astrid, and her griffin had finished their routine. A group of High Flyers took the stage and began to play music, some of their companions crooning along.

After the brief performance Nixxy came back to the dais. "Now on to the fun part! For the first time in Tintagel history, we will have a Tintagel Olympics!" At this, Jack's ears perked up. This was shaking it up. "We will have four people eighteen and under randomly selected from each company. First we have the Elementals!" She took a paper from her pocket with a flourish.

"Jackson Overland, Lauressa Sigurdsson, Nancy Damyanov and Aleksander Schwartz."

Eira shook Jack's shoulder roughly. "Go up!" Jack rushed to the dais, along with the three others.

"From the Two-Fours, Marie Cipris, Rapunzel Corona, Sean Van Nifterick, and Wilhelm Locatelli."

Those four came to the stage.

"From our High Flyers, Josiah Sedlak, Andrea Mohren, Merida DunBroch, and Russ Bristol. And finally, we have our Sea Snakes: Aisling Faolan, Irina Stefansson, Jared Pechacek, and Hiccup Haddock."

The sixteen Society members stood awkwardly on the stage. Jack noticed some of them looking in the audience, no doubt looking for friends or family.

"There's no way we can have Olympic events on this tiny dais here," proclaimed Nixxy, "so we'll move you kids to the grass over here." She herded them to a spot she deemed satisfactory. "Now, line up-face me, hon-that's right-just like that." Nixxy turned to the audience and through her megaphone yelled, "For our first event, we'll have something traditional. The one-hundred meter dash!"

Hiccup groaned audibly. He was a skinny stick with little to no athletic ability. Why on earth did he get picked for the Tintagel Olympics?

"Hm?" Nixxy asked, lowering her megaphone. She noticed Hiccup's prosthetic leg as he rolled his jeans up. Trotting over to him nervously, she asked, "Did you want me to replace you? If you can't do it…"

"I can do it!" exclaimed Hiccup unhappily. "Disabled doesn't mean useless. I can barely tell it's there! It's like a regular leg! I-oh, forget it. I'm still in." Hiccup steeled himself for the race, very determined to prove he wasn't hopeless.

Nixxy nodded her head at the Sea Snake. She yanked a gun from her jeans and said, "Runners to your marks, get set..." A blank was fired as Nixxy yelled, "Go!" The runners took off. Needless to say, Hiccup came in last. Only, he assured himself, because he tripped. He'd have made first otherwise. Or close to first.

"Congratulations, Jack Overland!" came Nixxy's excited voice.

Hiccup eyed the winner warily. His pale skin and dark brown hair contrasted one another greatly. There was nothing remotely interesting about him, except the crooked walking stick he held. As the sixteen regrouped, he heard one girl-she had short brown hair and a purple dress-ask politely why he had the stick and if it was hard to run with.

"I'm a companion to frost wolves," he said, "and this is our throwing stick."

"Oh," she said with interest.

"Yeah. I throw it real far-it's a lot lighter than it looks, see?" He handed the girl his stick and she hefted it, impressed. "Yeah. And then Elmfloe will run as fast as he can. I'm on his back. It's really fast. And fun."

The girl's mouth was a circle of awe. "So, are you American?" she questioned carefully.

At this point, Hiccup was finished listening. He decided right then and there that he hated Jack Overland. He was a stuck-up jock who was clearly trying to win the girl. That stupid lady-winning smile, that casual stance... yeah, Jack was no better than Snotlout. Well, at least the Frost Wolf companion appeared to have more intelligence than his dimwit bully of a cousin.

"Now," exclaimed Nixxy, "we will repeat the hundred-meter-dash..."

Hiccup's head dropped in annoyance into his hands. Again?

"...with your companions!"

From behind the groups of people, sixteen creatures either perked their ears or lifted their heads in excitement. Toothless ignored all social norms and took a great leap over the crowd to his companion. Many ducked and scattered in an attempt to avoid the great mass of the creature.

"Come on, stupid," murmured Hiccup to Toothless, stroking his nose. "You freaked out everyone in the crowd. Could you be more... polite?"

Toothless rolled his eyes in annoyance. _Yeah. Absolutely. I love being polite._

_Shut up, you useless reptile,_ hissed Hiccup, earning a whack from Toothless' tail.

Nixxy just blinked at the unusual entrance and signaled for the other creatures to come and join their companions in a more respectable manner. "Those that can ride or be carried by their companion creatures are to do so. Those that cannot-" she motioned to a Japanese girl's tiny faerie "-are to send their companions on their own." She clapped her hands. "Companions, to your line."

Hiccup climbed clumsily onto Toothless, ignoring Jack's graceful leap onto Elmfloe. His thoughts of hate, though unintentionally, drifted to Toothless.

Hiccup could hear the grin in Toothless' mental voice. _Don't worry, kid. We're going to kill that frost wolf._

_Um, literally? Or in the metaphorical way? Because I'd like to keep my head._

Toothless snickered audibly but didn't answer. Nixxy raised her gun and fired another blank. Toothless was over the line almost before Hiccup could think.

_Nice job, bud,_ Hiccup complimented. _You keep this up, we'll win the very first Tintagel Olympics._

Nixxy congratulated Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup waltzed over to Jack while Nixxy organized the next event.

"Guess I left you in the dust, huh, Frosty?"

"You didn't do squat," snarled Jack, though visibly ruffled by the loss. "If you and me got in a fight, there's no question who'd win. You're just using your stupid beast to win the glory for you. I can do it on my own."

Upon hearing "stupid beast", Toothless whipped around to stare the boy in he eye, a glare that was met unflinchingly.

"You will lose, Haddock," hissed Jack, his eyes never leaving Toothless's. "And I don't doubt it for a moment." He turned away, his staff swishing dramatically behind him.

Nixxy called them all to order, stating the next event to be the high jump. The brown-haired girl won that one, even in her dress. Jack's companion Elmfloe won for the companion round.

Many events unfolded afterward, including the long jump, a discus throw, and a tag team battle. Finally, four competitors and their companions were left; coincidentally there was one from each company. They had won the most events of the night and one of them would win the first Tintagel Olympics. The four remaining were Hiccup, Jack, the brown-haired girl Hiccup learned was named Rapunzel, and a girl with a crazy mop of orange hair called Merida.

Nixxy raised the megaphone to her lips and declared, "For our final event-a less Olympic one-we will have you and your companion choreograph a dance. Our audience will choose the winner here. You have ten minutes."

Jack and Hiccup locked eyes and each confirmed in a moment that the other was going down. Way, way down.

"So, what're you going to do?" asked Merida.

"Actually," said Hiccup with a proud grin, "I was thinking of-"

"I'm not sure," replied Rapunzel. Hiccup realized in annoyance that Merida's question wasn't aimed at him. "If you can't see it from above, you might miss the beautiful twists and turns Acantha has. I'm not likely to win since she can't fly."

"She doesn't fly on rainbows?" joked the red-haired Scot.

"No, of course not. But we'll figure something out."

"Five minutes," interrupted Nixxy. Hiccup watched the other three scramble around, fitting in last-minute ideas. He wasn't worried.

When the final five minutes were up, Nixxy called up Jack and Elmfloe to the dais to perform their dance. Elmfloe was nowhere in sight. Jack put a bit of frost on his lips from a thermos he held and howled. It was an eerie yet excited and very real-sounding howl. White paws materialized like snow blowing in to fill a mold. Next came legs, then the thick, strong body of Elmfloe. Finally the head appeared and the frost wolf echoed Jack's howl. Jack ran toward the horse-sized animal, grabbed his neck, and swung over so he was resting comfortably on the wolf's back. He threw the stick effortlessly over the crowd's head. Elmfloe charged around the crowd and leapt into the air, catching the stick in his powerful jaws. He blew frost from his nostrils onto the back of the crowd, earning a soft whack from Jack. He apologized to the shivering people. Elmfloe leapt into the air and completed a backflip successfully, even managing not to launch Jack. The wolf took three great leaps and landed on the dais, where the two bowed before the applauding crowd prior to leaving.

Next came Rapunzel and her unicorn Acantha. They began on the dais where Rapunzel rode sidesaddle on the animal. Acantha trotted regally off the dais. Rapunzel put her hands on her companion's horn and slowly stood on her back, even as the unicorn began to gallop. Her stance was like a surfer's. There was a whistle from the crowd and Rapunzel grinned and found the goatee'd man, to whom she waved. This set her off-balance, and she tumbled to the ground. Clutching her bruised knee, she apologized to the crowd and limped back to the other finalists.

Hiccup flashed Jack what he thought was a "I'm going to kick your butt" smile. It actually came out awkward, but what Hiccup didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He clicked his prosthetic into Toothless' saddle and whispered, "I don't care what you do. Just wow 'em, bud." So Toothless did just that. He took off into the air, at first circling above the crowd like a buzzard. Then he launched into the air and climbed. He flew above the clouds, circled a bit then pulled his wings to his side and dove. Hiccup unhooked himself from the dragon's saddle and fell alongside him. The people screamed as Toothless swooped over their heads, catching Hiccup. Then he flew above the dais, twirled head-over-heels, then twirled together like ballerinas in a pirouette a few times and landed. Hiccup and Toothless bowed just as Jack and Elmfloe had done before exiting the stage, where Hiccup gloated to Jack.

Finally Merida and her phoenix called Enya took to the stage. The phoenix grasped Merida's outstretched arms, the traditional Celtic dress she wore flowing beneath her. Enya raised Merida with a few flaps of her wings, then blew a circular wall of fire around them reaching at least twenty feet in the air. They were shrouded by the fire, but suddenly both emerged in the same spot albeit twenty feet apart. Merida danced a slow version of a Scottish jig, her movements wide and graceful, her face a mask of concentrated serenity. The phoenix above her mirrored her movements in a more birdlike fashion. Suddenly Merida leapt into the fire, hearing the crowd gasp. Enya's fire could not harm her, however. From her point of view, she saw the orange ring around her for what seemed like miles up. She jumped out on the other side, trying to keep her face peaceful as she saw her best friend above her, doing just as she was. They danced gracefully, fully realizing the crowd's awe. To finish, they both jumped into the wall. The fire disappeared and Merida and the phoenix were suddenly twenty feet up. Enya slowly lowered the girl to the dais where they curtsied and bowed and left to join the other competitors.

Nixxy returned to the dais and raised the megaphone to her mouth. "Thank you, finalists! To vote, simply come up here, where we will have slips of paper and a box to put your vote in. The finalist with the most votes wins the Olympics! You are free to mingle amongst yourselves and those of other companies while we wait."

She dismissed the competitors and their companions, who left, conversing casually. Jack and Hiccup stayed far away from each other, each one talking to one of the girls.

"That's some dragon you've got there," Merida complimented.

"Thanks. He's one of the Legendary dragons. Very hard to manage, but fully worth it."

"Legendary?" Merida questioned. "What's the difference?"

"Oh. A Legendary dragon is one of the ancestors of today's dragons. They've been around thousands of years, some even more. At the moment there are a little less than ten known Legendaries. My dragon, Toothless, is known as the Night Fury and is the youngest Legendary dragon. Many call him the unholy offspring of lighting and death, but he's no monster. The real monsters are the Deaths. The Red Death, the Green Death, and that sort of thing. Just different and special dragons, is all."

"Cool." She turned to Rapunzel, who had just asked about her dress. "Oh. You know, a traditional Celtic one. My mum made me wear it. It's nice, and it worked great for the dance, but I don't love dresses."

"Really?" Rapunzel looked down at her own dress and grinned sheepishly.

"Yours is pretty, though," Merida assured her. "I like the flowers."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. Astrid would never have this conversation. "Speak of the devil," he murmured to himself as Astrid herself swaggered up to the group.

She put an arm around Hiccup and shook him affectionately. "Good job, Hic!"

Jack raised an eyebrow in interest, earning a death glare from Hiccup. Merida and Rapunzel looked expectantly at Hiccup.

"Oh! This is Astrid Hofferson, my fr-"

"I'm his girlfriend."

Hiccup reddened considerably, and Jack's eyebrow dropped. His expression changed and he started to snicker. That little stick had her for a girlfriend? She could do better.

"You're dating him?" he exclaimed. "He doesn't deserve you. You need... someone with personality. And good looks."

Quick as lightning the girl had stepped forward and left a stinging mark on the pale boy's skin. Jack started to rub his cheek where the Viking girl's hand had connected with his face. His eyes glanced upon a well-built man with brown locks and a goatee to match.

"Oh! Eugene!" called Rapunzel, waving.

"Hey, Punzie," he greeted, joining the little group of five.

"Right. Guys, this is Eugene Fitzherbert. He's my boyfriend."

Eugene offered a hand to the rest of the group as they introduced themselves. Jack clearly had no interest in meeting him, and Flynn suspected why. Much like Hiccup, Eugene had an almost immediate hatred towards the frost wolf companion. He could also tell Hiccup had a similar hatred toward the boy, and so began to socialize with the Viking boy. Those two became quick friends.

Rapunzel and Jack talked comfortably about their lives, Merida and Astrid discussed archery, fencing and other pastimes, and Flynn and Hiccup bonded through mutual hatred and the fact that they actually had girlfriends. They conversed together for a few hours, quickly becoming friends.

Finally Nixxy came again to the dais to name the winner of the Tintagel Olympics. "Alright, folks. A few volunteers have counted the votes, and I have the numbers right here." She waved four slips of paper.

Hiccup gave Jack a grin. "I'm going to kick your butt," he whispered. Eugene patted the younger boy on the back.

"I hope you will," he agreed.

"Rapunzel Corona: one hundred and forty-two votes."

Rapunzel jumped into Eugene's arms. "Almost two hundred votes!" she squealed. "And I fell off!"

"Jackson Overland: two hundred and ninety-four votes."

Jack grinned at Hiccup confidently.

"Hiccup Haddock: two hundred and ninety-four votes."

Jaws dropped. Eugene tried to hold Hiccup back as he tried to run toward the equally-surprised Jack.

"Merida DunBroch: four hundred and three votes."

Dozens of sets of eyes turned towards the Scot, Jack and Hiccup especially. Those two had been so focused on which of them would win that they forgot about the other competitors. Merida gasped in excitement and laughed as Astrid threw an arm around her. "Great job!" The Viking descendant moved aside to let Rapunzel hug Merida. Rapunzel's hug almost sent Merida bowling over.

Still laughing, Merida walked to the dais to accept a thin gold medal with the logo of the High Flyers on it. "Thank you," she said, both excited and embarrassed by a thousand eyes on her.

"You've also won fifty dollars," Nixxy said, handing her a fifty-dollar credit card, "and a coupon for a free ice cream."

Merida thanked Nixxy again, lifted her skirt and ran back to the group, where Astrid, Eugene and Rapunzel were trying very hard to keep Hiccup and Jack from killing each other.

"And that concludes this year's Tintagel!" said Nixxy cheerfully. "See you next fall!"

The crowd dispersed, except the group of six, who exchanged numbers before separating so they could keep in touch, although a few did so begrudgingly. Just as they broke off to go home, a cynical bolt of golden lightning lit up the sky.


	6. Chapter 2: Nightmare

**AN: Hello! I have to say I had tons of fun writing this chapter. I definitely liked Rapunzel's part the best, but Tyira thinks I need to lay off my creepy obsessions. I could have made it much worse though! Any way this is a lot shorter compared to the last chapter I wrote and I'm okay with that. I feel I got my point across. So until next time! Oh also updates will become every two weeks because of school. -.- Hate it but gotta learn stuff! Love you all and enjoy!**

* * *

_"Somewhere all my darkest fears are gathering_

_It's not enough to save the day_

_I can't escape my nightmares."_

_Chameleon Circuit_

* * *

Confused cobalt, edgy emerald, and hesitant hazel eyes looked skywards, their owners facing several conflicting emotions. The wind breathed a final breath and then went silent. Nothing moved besides the smoke that curled into the now rancid air. Fear radiated from the smoldering remains ahead of the group. Something stirred within the clouds of ash. Any light was viciously sucked away as if being drawn to the dark figure that slowly raised itself from the ground. Darker than the night sky, the beast made Toothless bright as the sun. The group of companions subconsciously moved closer together as a bone-chilling wind swept over them. The two present couples grabbed their loved ones in an attempt for comfort. The full mass of the creature appeared from behind its veil of smoke. Sand. Black sand spilt around obsidian hooves as the beast moved slowly towards the group.

"No way," the oldest brunette whispered as he took in the creature's full appearance.

As if the voice had snapped a line previously holding her back, the red-haired Scot whirled around, pinned her gaze on the man, and spoke. "Does anyone know what that is?" Her voice was snappy but the fear was as evident in it as it was in the tingling running up everyone's spine.

"But it's not possible," he continued to whisper to himself. "I thought they had died out long ago. That creature that's a—"

"A nightmare," the Viking boy voiced. He had only heard about them briefly from Gobber, but it was enough for it to stick with him.

All six eyes shifted back to the beast where it stood. Its anatomy was one of a horse, but most horses aren't composed of shifty black sand. It was as if somebody had taken the legend of the Sandman and put their dark twist on it. The beast was quite literally a mare made of the darkest night where only cold and fear reside. Maybe for those sick in the mind this creation would be fabulous, but in reality its only purpose is to install a crippling fear within everyone. For all its dark glory, though, its eyes remained glowing amber, almost as if there was some good trying to hang on through all the bad. Like a dream turned south. That perhaps was the scariest thing of all.

"B-but if they're all supposed to be dead, why is there one here, Hiccup?" Rapunzel asked.

Silence ensued. The creature paced in place, the clopping of its hooves the only sound in the stifling darkness. No light reached down from the moon and stars overhead. It was only them and the beast. The Nightmare snorted, its amber eyes casting fitful glances back and forth as if deciding what to do. A minute ticked by in what felt like hours, time stretching forever and filled only with the sounds from the creature. The six companions fidgeted nervously, all six eyes portraying fear, but all minds experiencing different types. Finally the Nightmare moved. In a swift movement the beast charged straight at the group. Chaos erupted as the six attempted to dodge. The girls tripped on their skirts and dresses while the guys tripped over the girls. In the end it didn't matter. The beast was upon them. Jade, aqua, and copper all met piercing amber. All six looked into the eyes of the beast. The nightmare barreled through them all, and then like that it was gone. Six bodies lay on the ground barely moving.

The pull of darkness vanished along with the creature. Resplendent droplets of liquid moonlight descended upon the near motionless companions. The first to stir was Jack, who sat up with a hand pressed to his head. Disoriented, he scanned around him looking for answers as to what happened. The young Viking boy sat up next, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Blinking several times, he, too, looked around him. The sixteen-year-old and the seventeen-year-old joined their gazes, but neither had the energy nor will power to be mad at the other for the moment. Shuffling from Jack's left caught his attention. Breaking the eye contact, he watched the Scot rub her head in confusion. Her cerulean eyes traveled around in a circle looking at each body before taking in her own appearance. A bubble popped as she jumped off the ground, trying frantically to clean dirt off her beautiful Celtic dress.

"Oh, no, my mum's going to kill me," she cried in desperation. Her hands worked furiously, rubbing at the dirt like her life depended on it. Now, it very well could depend on it, but at the moment her brain just wanted to take a little break. Merida was still not fully recovered and so in her savage cleaning attempt, she stumbled, falling forward to land on her knees.

"Whoa, slow down there, hot stuff, it's not the end of the world," Jack said, holding his hands up as if he was being threatened.

"My mum sent this all the way from Scotland! Do you know how much shipping costs going between countries?" the girl fumed, her face pinching up in a snarl.

Hiccup rubbed his eyes as the Scottish lass and the ice jerk started a miniature world war over a dress. The Viking sighed and glanced at the three others who were slowly getting to an upright position. Rapunzel yawned cutely as if she had just woken up from a nice catnap, and Eugene slid his arm from around Rapunzel's shoulders in order to stand up. The older man did so but without much difficulty. If Hiccup were to put it nicely, he'd say he looked drunk.

"What happened?" Astrid questioned. The blonde girl was now standing, somehow managing to not look at all affected.

Jack and Merida stopped their petty dispute to look at the teen. Silence once again descended at the words they had all wondered, but not had the courage to speak. Eugene stood with his arm once again around Rapunzel after helping her up, while the remaining three still sat on the ground.

Hiccup pushed himself up and glanced towards the sky. A full moon hung above them, its light shrouding the six in an ethereal glow. Hiccup judged it to be around one o'clock in the morning, and he voiced this.

"Okay, as the only legal adult here, I'm taking executive order and saying we all just head on home, get some rest, and we will all get together later so we can fully understand what happened. Try to avoid talking about this is as much as possible. We don't want any miscommunications. Understand?" Eugene ordered.  
Five heads nodded in agreement and together the six moved off the mountainside.

Eira and Leon were waiting in the car when Jack arrived. Surprisingly they weren't bickering, but instead giving Jack disapproving scowls.

"What took you so long?" his mentor questioned.

Jack closed the door behind him, electing to rest his head on the window. "Traded numbers with some people I met. We got to talking and lost track of time," he mumbled into his hand.

"Oh, and what about the smoke we saw from the mountain?" Leon interrogated.

Jack fumbled. Should he tell them what happened? No, Eugene said they should wait until they can get their story straight, and even though Jack didn't like Eugene so much he did respect his decision.

"That Viking boy's companion accidentally lit a tree on fire. We got it put out for the most part. What an idiot, though. Kid can't even control his own companion," Jack lied easily.

"Oh yeah, the boy with the legendary! What a cool creature. I wish I could meet him. I've always wanted to see what they're like," Leon exclaimed.

Eira scoffed as she started the car. "Those creatures are just overgrown lizards. Nothing special about them. Now that girl with the Unicorn, that's another story. I've never seen a unicorn tolerate someone standing on its back like that, even from a companion! What control."

"You know, you're just jealous that you're stuck with frost wolves as your companion creature. The dragons are so much cooler," Leon all but shouted.

The car lurched violently forward as Eira slammed on the gas. "Say that to my face, you bastard!"

Jack tuned out the bickering as even fouler language began to be tossed around the car. There were several points when Jack feared for his life, but finally they made it home, and the brunette fell on to his bed in a deep sleep.

* * *

Darkness. He was in a senseless world. Nothing moved against his skin, nothing whistled in his ear, he just floated, unable to comprehend anything. It was cold. He could feel that now, and a creeping chill clambered up his spine. He was scared, but that wasn't right. Jackson Overland didn't get scared. Then, there was light. A florescent light was hanging above his head. He could see again. Jack moved his hands forward. His skin was unnaturally pale in the blue light and the fear grew in him. He flicked his eyes upward. The edges of his vision blurred as if in a dream. It was his school's hallway, except not a soul was in sight. Uncertainly, he moved down the corridor. A nerve-wracking wind picked up, bringing with it a name, whispered as if long forgotten.

"Jack," it said. The voice was high, like a little girl.

The seventeen-year-old stopped dead in his tracks. The lights overhead began to flicker. _Clunk._ A light turned off. _Clunk, clunk._ Two more followed. Heavy breathing accompanied the fourth clunk. Eyes wide in fear, Jack turned away from the darkening hallway and ran. His breath came out in short, frosted puffs and he pumped his arms faster than he ever had. Something was after him. The heavy breathing was right on his neck. He rounded a corner. A door leading to the outside presented itself like a holy grail. The dark-haired teen barreled straight into the structure. Light erupted, coating everything in a lush golden hue. Hands on his knees, Jack realized the heavy breathing had been come from him. Laughing, he straightened up. That wasn't like him, getting scared for no reason. He looked around. No wonder there hadn't been anyone in the hall. It was lunch time. Mentally he smacked himself for being such an idiot as to forget the time of day. He scanned the courtyard quickly, looking for his friends. He spotted them lounging beneath a large tree, eating away. He made towards them.

"Hey," he called out to a group of girls that passed by him. They didn't respond, but he brushed it off as not hearing him.

"Hi," he called out to another group. They, too, didn't respond. Perhaps he wasn't speaking loud enough.

"Hey guys," he all but shouted at his friends. They had all stood up and were walking towards him, still chatting idly amongst each other. Strange.

"Where are you guys going?" Jack asked as they walked right by him.

"Hey wait up!" he hollered, running around to block their path. One, two, three, four. They all walked right through him. The frost wolf companion clutched his chest, an empty feeling manifesting. More people continued to walk right through him. Nobody could see him. Nobody knew who he was. All of Jack's greatest nightmares were coming true in a matter of seconds. He shook his head, but instead of brown locks sweeping b,y his hair was a crisp white.

"No," he mumbled, whole body shaking. "No, no, no!"

Jack ran. The school scenery shifted, black spots dominating the space until nothing was left but Jack and the darkness. He felt cold. His skin was like ice.

"Jack," this time an older woman's voice.

What were these voices? Why was he so cold? This shouldn't be possible. He wanted to cry, the fear building up in him. By some unseen force he fell, landing on the ground yet not the ground. The only thing that surrounded him now was black, and the voices.

"Jack? Who's Jack?"

"Jack, Jack!"

"No, no, go away," Jack chanted desperately towards the voices, but they kept coming back. They teased him. Some didn't know him, but three voices seemed worried.

"Jack, I'm scared," the little girl's voice echoed. He recognized it now. "Where are you Jack?"

"Emma, Emma! I'm here!" he whined, his voice cracking.

"Jack, help me!" the older woman screeched.

"…Mom?" he whispered.

"Jackson, save me!"

"Mom where are you? Tell me how to help! Mom!"

"They can't hear you, Jack. You don't exist. Nobody cares about you," a new voice chimed in. Its words were dark and sinister, said to inflict even more fear within him.

"No, you're wrong!" Jack cried.

"Oh, but I'm not. You're just like the tale of Jack Frost now. The man who brings nothing but loneliness, sorrow, and cold. Nobody believes in Jack Frost."

Jack covered his ears with his icy hands. Snow was supposed to be fun. That was all Jack was ever about. He lived to have a good time. "Go away, go away," he chanted.  
The voices increased, echoing all around him, and bleeding through it all was a cynical snicker.

* * *

It was a beautiful day. Cliché to a fault almost. The sun reflected glorious colors off of Enya's feathers, painting the water into fire. Merida stood beside the phoenix, her bow in hand, quiver around her waist, and smile plastered across her round face. Enya nestled down in the ground turning into a puddle of colors by the Scot's feat. Merida nodded at the signal and bent down, slipping out of her sneakers and hitching her jeans up to her knees. She set her bow down and rolled up the sleeves of her plain white t-shirt before nocking an arrow and moving towards the crystal-clear water. It was Saturday, otherwise known as fishing day for the phoenix and her companion. The redhead took a deep breath, pulled the arrow back and let loose. A gentle plop and the fish floated towards the surface. A smile swept across the girl's face as she reached down to grab the fish. Eyes glowing with triumph, she turned around.

The forest was gone. Merida still stood in the water, but Enya was no longer laying on the soft ground of their forest. The phoenix screeched as a cage clattered around her. Merida's grip slackened, fish forgotten. The brilliant sun from over head disappeared. She knew it had been too good to be true. Enya scrapped at the bars in vain. Fire rippled off her wings but they did nothing to the warped cage.

Merida ran forward, the ground changing from smooth rocks to a rough cave floor. Cages appeared everywhere, but Merida's only focus was freeing her friend. One hand reached out towards her companion, grasping for the bars. _Clank._ A cage fell around Merida. The phoenix watched with a sorrowful expression as her friend was swept away.

"Enya!" she called out.

Fear froze them both in their tracks. Slowly, Enya's vibrant feathers were shifting. The brilliant flaming hues were over taken by the creeping hues of night. Wicked purples, and sinister blacks spread across the once radiant feathers.

"No, Enya!" she screamed, reaching out, but her cage had moved too far away. Both sets of eyes were filled with horror as the darkness finished its journey. The age-old phoenix Enya was no more. All that remained was a dreadful statue.

"No, please! This can't be happening!" Merida cried.

An inkling of fear crept into her heart and slowly replaced the horror. The bars of her cage were moving. All around her the cage shrunk. Merida froze, her body as solid as Enya's statue. All her freedom was suddenly slipping away. Everything cascaded around her until all that remained was her cage, eerily visible in the darkness. The bars encroached more.

She cried. Watery blue eyes welled up, fear and sadness overflowing by the gallons. The cage suffocated her, like a bird that would never be free again. As he bars finally cut her off, a voice spoke through the darkness.

"Is this not better? Such a fiery spirit, so completely broken, just by hurting her friends and caging her. There is no really freedom in this world. Not anymore. Now, the only freedom you know, will be in serving under me. You are finished," it hissed.

Merida just held her head and sobbed.

* * *

_Where am I?_ Rapunzel thought, rubbing her head. Emerald eyes blinked sleepily. _My… room…?_ She scratched her head, mind overwhelmed by dancing thoughts. A smell drifted up from down stairs. Grey light filtered in through a small window. _It must be Eugene cooking breakfast, then,_ she concluded. Moving off the bed, she ran her fingers through short brown hair. A yawn escaped her lips as she made her way down stairs. If her brain had been coherent, however, she would have noticed something off with this house.

Rapunzel sat in a chair and sighed, still exhausted from the previous night. She slouched forward, resting her head on the table.

"Rapunzel, how many times must I tell you not to slouch?" a voice snapped from the kitchen.

She froze. Slowly her head inclined from its place on the table and looked towards the kitchen. Standing in the doorway was her mother. Curly black hair framed her face which was pinched into a scowl as she took in Rapunzel's disheveled appearance.

"Honey, go put some proper clothes on. And don't make mother wait!" Gothel chimed as she moved back into the kitchen.

Rapunzel didn't listen. She was too stunned to even form complete sentences. This wasn't her house. It was the house she had lived in with that monster who dared to call herself a mother. Her head cleared and she followed after the woman.

"How are you here? I thought I was finally rid of you!" Rapunzel accused.

"I don't know what you're talking about, dear," Gothel replied, back towards Rapunzel.

"I'm saying that Eugene saved me from you, so how are you here?"

Gothel gasped. "Why Rapunzel, I'm the one who saved you. That man was no good, along with those other hooligans you call friends. They've all been taken care of and now life can go back to being normal," she shunned. "We will have to do something about that hair, though. Why, it's positively ghastly!"

Gothel's words struck a chord in Rapunzel. "What did you do with my friends?" she snarled, voice low.

"Check the living room. Everything you're looking for is in there."

Gothel continued to cook, flipping what appeared to be sausages. Rapunzel backed away slowly and ran to the living room. The first thing she noticed was the stench. Something had been rotting in here for a very long time. She pushed open the door. Strewn across the room was the bodies of all her friends and family. Most had been butchered beyond recognition. Painted in blood across the walls were the words "Welcome Home, Flower". Rapunzel faced the other way and threw up. Slowly she looked towards the bodies again. People she had only met the night before were there, their faces mutilated to show smiles. A mop of red, a sprinkling of gold, and a mass of copper were all that allowed Rapunzel to recognize them. One particular body caught her eye.

"Eugene," she whispered, voice hoarse and hollow.  
She rushed forward and picked up her loved one, cradling him close to her chest. His midsection had been sliced open and all the organs removed. The blood was still new and it stained Rapunzel's dress, along with her tears.

A disapproving noise echoed around the room. "Now, now, dear, there's no need to be crying. Here, have some sausage," Gothel offered. "It's homemade."

Rapunzel looked up, raw red eyes examining the meat in front of her. Slowly her brain made the connection. Gently she sat Eugene's body down. "I will not stay with you. No matter what you try, I will keep fighting you. If you try to stop me from leaving right now, I will show no mercy you sick-sick-"  
Gothel sneered, cutting her off. "Why Rapunzel, don't be so foul! I'll fix that no problem. You see it's too late for you to leave."

Cold steel snapped around Rapunzel's wrists. She struggled against the bonds, but Gothel was dragging her full-force towards the basement door. Gothel started to speak, but her voice slowly turned into someone even more wicked. "I will show you the true meaning of fear."

Rapunzel screamed.

* * *

Everything was normal. Too normal. Hiccup was walking between his classes at school, everyone completely ignoring his presence. Slowly he walked into his last class of the day, Mr. Agnarson.

Wait, why am I by on Berk? Hiccup thought. Something was off about all of this. This was no memory he was reliving. It was a real day. But hadn't Astrid and he left to be with their mentors in England? Hiccup stared ahead, strange thoughts occupying his mind.

"Mr. Haddock, no daydreaming!" his teacher snapped.  
Around him everyone snickered.

"What a loser."

"Total dipwad."

Hiccup's brow furrowed further. Before he had left Berk, he was the hero of the town. He had saved them all from being burnt alive, plus another horrible outcome. Why was everyone acting this way? The day ended and Hiccup rushed out of the school. On the way, he collided with Astrid.

"Watch it, Haddock," she snapped.

Definitely strange. Hiccup wanted answers and he wanted them now. Shrugging to himself, he ran off towards the woods. He pushed through the branches, receiving several scratches along his face. Since when had his path been so overgrown? He pushed hard and faster through the underbrush. Finally he made it to the cove.

"Hey, Toothless," he called out. There was no response. Not even the birds replied. The only thing Hiccup could hear was static silence.

"Toothless, this isn't funny. Come out, bud," he said, searching the clearing. Nothing. Toothless wasn't there. Hiccup gulped a cold chill now climbing, encasing him. It was absolutely silent and there was nobody in sight. Fear washed over Hiccup like a wave. It took him and tumbled him, allowing no escape. He called again and again, hoping for an answer from anything. All he got was silence. Even his own voice began to fade. Suddenly it all made sense. His greatest fear. Nobody respected him, nobody answered him, and Toothless was gone.

"Not so high and mighty now?" a voice snarled. The cove faded and Hiccup fell. His leg was gone, no prosthetic to replace it.

"How does it feel to be without your companion? To be without the respect you deserve?" the voice was everywhere but nowhere. Hiccup curled into himself, a pitiful mass of skin and bone.

"Welcome to my world," the voice sizzled out. Hiccup whimpered. He was in its world. It was a world filled with fear and desperation.

And Hiccup was totally alone.


	7. Chapter 3: Waking Up

**AN: Hello, faithful readers! Tyira here. Sorry about the extra week. The wifi wasn't working. I hope you enjoy this chapter despite the wait.**

**By the way, if anyone's interested, we could use a Britpicker or two. Thanks!**

* * *

_Sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them._

_Veronica Roth_

* * *

Jack sat straight up, sweat beading his forehead. He looked at his hands. Not pale. He dashed out of his room, still in his boxers, and into the bathroom. His hair was as brown as it always had been. He exhaled deeply. Just a dream.

But the dream still plagued him.

He washed his face, dressed himself, and went downstairs, half-expecting messy-haired Eira and half-clothed Leon to ignore him.

"'Morning," he murmured groggily.

Two silent nods were all he got in response. Jack panicked. Did they actually acknowledge him, or were they nodding for different reasons? Eira had a fantasy novel and Leon had headphones on as he waited for his coffee. Was she nodding because of the book? Was he nodding in beat to the music?

"How did you sleep?" Jack asked nervously, the sweat starting up again. The two shrugged simultaneously. Jack's confidence grew. "I didn't sleep so well. I had a terrible nightmare where-" he stopped and gazed at their two motionless forms. "You're not listening to me, are you?"

"Jack, shut the hell up and eat some breakfast," Eira murmured irritably, turning a page. Leon turned up the radio. Jack grinned with relief and prepared himself a bowl of cereal.

The phone rang. Neither Eira nor Leon made any move to answer it, so Jack stood from his seat, shoved a bite of cereal in his mouth, and went over to the phone.

"Herro?" he said around a mouthful of Cheerios.

The person on the other end sniffed loudly. "Jack?" the voice asked. "Are you okay?"

"Rapunzel?" He gulped down his bite. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said comfortingly, sitting down in the living room.

She burst into tears. "Oh, thank God!" she sobbed.

"What, did you think I was dead? Rapunzel, _what is the matter_?"

She sniffled, and Jack waited a few moments for her to dry her tears. "I had the /worst/ dream! Everyone-" her voice cracked "-everyone was dead. Butchered. And she tried to feed you guys to me. And imprison me."

Jack barely knew her, but he desperately wished he could be where she was so he could throw an arm around her. Her heartbreak dug deep, and he was never quite so empathetic. And he assumed it was because of his nightmare as well. "I'm fine. I'm in one piece and safe..." he crooned. "Don't worry, perky. It was just a dream."

"Thanks, Jack," she said with another sniffle. "I'm going to call the rest-oh. Here you go."

"Jack, something is not right." The new voice shook in a way Jack never thought it would.

"Oh. Flynn." His voice displayed surprise. "I didn't think you ever wanted to talk to me."

"I don't." Flynn gulped, and Jack could hear static as the phone trembled against Flynn's ear. "But I-I know your mom is a Trustee. Rapunzel and I both had nightmares, and I think it's because of the nightmare we saw last week. Did you have one?"

"Yeah." Jack began to shake, mirroring Flynn. It had been so real. He could still feel that awful empty feeling when someone walked through him.

"Did it involve your worst fear?"

Jack swallowed. "Yeah."

"Ours too. Double-check with Hic and Mer. Then tell your mom exactly what you saw and what happened as a consequence." He sighed. "This is a big deal, Jack. If this nightmare has no human companion, there'll be no stopping it unless it's dead."

"Will do. Thanks, Flynn." Jack hung up and took a nervous breath. He knew there was nothing to be afraid of. It was just a dream. But when Flynn mentioned it, it set off the terror all over again. He tried to force his legs to not wobble as he walked up to his room.

He found the scrap paper with three ten-digit numbers on it. He skipped past Flynn and Rapunzel's and went to Hiccup and Astrid's. He found another of the many phones in the large lodge Eira and Leon had inherited and dialed.

"Hello?" Hiccup's voice shook, reminding Jack of Flynn's greeting. He was definitely affected. Hiccup cleared his throat and repeated the greeting.

"Hiccup?"

"Jack," he growled, terror shooting through his hostile tone. Jack was someone who thought he was pathetic and had little to no respect for him. Just like his dream.

"Shut up, Haddock. If you won't play nice, put on your girlfriend." Hiccup couldn't handle talking to someone who didn't care about him. Distantly Jack could hear Astrid's name being called.

"What's up, Jack?" Astrid asked, her usual casual confidence replaced by the angry tone Hiccup had. Without doubt, she was trying to hide her fear. Jack didn't have to ask, judging by her tone, but he wanted to double-check.

"Did you have a nightmare last night?" Even at the word _nightmare_, Jack shuddered.

He could almost see her skin go white. He heard a loud clattering. The phone had hit the ground. When it was recovered, Astrid croaked, "How did you know about that?"

"So far, everyone who saw the nightmare last week had a nightmare last night. One involving their worst fear." He began to perspire again as he spoke.

Jack waited a moment, afraid she didn't know he existed. Just like everyone else. "Yeah," she said finally, "I had one. My worst fear." He exhaled.

"And Hiccup?"

"Hold on." Through the receiver, Jack could hear a muffled conversation between the two Norwegians.

"Yeah, I had a nightmare," Hiccup confirmed after a while, his voice shaking again. "Toothless... there was no Toothless."

Jack nodded. "You're not alone, buck tooth." Ignoring a terrified-sounding outburst from Hiccup, Jack hung up and dialed Merida. It was busy, likely because Rapunzel was talking to her. He counted to sixty five times before trying again.

"Hello?"

"Merida?"

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Jack froze. She couldn't hear him. No one could. He didn't exist. He almost expected to hear that taunting voice from nowhere.

"Merida?" he rasped tremulously.

"Jack?"

"Carrot-top!" he greeted with the utmost relief, glad she couldn't see him.

"Not necessary," she told him firmly. "What do you want?"

"Ach, I wont to taalk to ye, lassie," he said, grinning. She could hear him. How could he not grin?

"Also not necessary. If you have something important to say, say it. Otherwise, I'm hanging up."

He chuckled, but quickly his tone changed. "Did Rapunzel call you?" he asked softly, knowing he'd strike a painful chord with her. It almost hurt his heart to remember the conversation.

She gulped. "Aye," she said quietly, almost choked up. But it was over the phone, so Jack couldn't be sure. "You had a nightmare too, then."

"Yeah. I'm going to tell my mom and they'll sort it out. No more nightmare. No more problem." He was still sour that she had won the Tintagel Olympics, but he felt the same amount of empathy he had for sweet Rapunzel. And certainly more than that he held for both Hiccup and Astrid. He disliked Hiccup and Astrid would slap him if he thought she had _feelings._

"Thanks, Jack, I'd hate... hate to see anyone else suffer like that."

"Bye, Mer."

"Bye."

Jack took a deep breath and called his mother from their most recent number. The family currently lived in Kenya.

"Joye Overland," she said professionally.

"Mom?"

"Jack!" she exclaimed. "How is everything? Is school going alright?" Thank goodness she could hear him. And she wasn't crying for help either.

Though he truly wished otherwise, though he truly wished for motherly comfort, he said, "Mom, I'm talking to you as a Trustee. Not as my mom."

Joye cleared her throat and her tone changed to the one she had when introducing herself. "I'm listening."

"A few new friends and I saw a nightmare on Tintagel," he began.

"You can't be serious," his mother interrupted incredulously. "They're all dead!"

"I'm very serious. We saw one and last night, all six of us had nightmares about our worst fears." He inhaled deeply as he again remembered his own. "Everyone is noticeably affected, even over the phone. I can hardly talk about this without panicking."

"I see," she replied, but her motherly instincts were leaking into her professional voice.

"So we were thinking that you'd need to speak to the Trustees about this. We wouldn't want anyone else to have nightmares the way we did. We'd never wish pain like this on anyone else."

"I'll see what I can do. Bye, honey."

"Uh, Mom?" he asked nervously. "You'd never forget about me, right?"

"Never," she replied firmly. "I love you."

"Bye."

Two of the Trustees were in India to remedy a matter of people fighting one another because their companions fought one another. One was in Denmark to control the otter penguin population, and Joye herself was in Kenya to help the only other Cerberus companion in the world.

So when Joye called them to regroup in England, it was no small worry.

On wooden folding chairs in a forest clearing sat the four Trustees and one boy. Four companions accompanied these Trustees. "Now, I know this inconveniences you, but I hope you understand how important this is," Joye began, sitting beside Melopita, her Cerberus, and Jack.

"Yes, I do suppose that a nightmare without a companion is a sure-fire way to get many too terrified to go outside and some even killed." The man who spoke was Frederick Cony, the oldest of the Trustees. He was companion to the rock dwarf species, Gard in particular.

"I suppose this is a matter that needs seeing to," agreed Kinga Potowska, companion to Morjik the dragon.

The final two Trustees, Eagle-Child and his companion Storm-Bird, nodded. "What do you propose?" inquired Eagle-Child.

"After doing a little research," Joye stated, "I've identified the nightmare as Kozmotis, a companion to a Mr. Pitchiner Black. Mr. Black was killed in an accident and the nightmare hasn't been seen since.

"Since appearing again after almost ten years, it went straight to the English Tintagel and struck its trademark fear into the hearts of six young individuals: my son here and five of his friends. As you may know, if someone has looked into the golden eyes of a nightmare, a few weeks will in turn be plagued with crippling nightmares and terror because of this creature."

Jack shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "And, Jackson," asked Kinga, "can you describe your nightmare?"

Jack took a shuddery breath. "No. Sorry, but..." he trailed off, the nightmare echoing through his mind.

This made the Trustees' eyes widen. Though only Cony had seen a nightmare's effects on a person, they all knew Jack had certainly seen one.

"Thank you, Jackson."

"What we need to do," continued Jack's mother, "is find the nightmare and contain it. They were thought extinct for a reason: frightened individuals got rid of them all. Until we can find a companion to nightmares, we have no choice but to keep it in solitary confinement."

Four people walked into the clearing at that moment, sweating from the hike to the clearing. "Oh, yes," said Joye. "These four were friends of Mr. Black before his death, and they told me they could fill us in on some information about Kozmotis."

"Hello," said a large man with tattoos on his arms, a thick white beard and Russian accent to match. "I am Nicolas St. North, companion to the yeti."

"E. Aster Bunnymund, companion to jackalopes," greeted the next, a tall thin man with a grey goatee and Australian accent.

"Ana Punjam," said a tiny woman, her side bangs dyed rainbow. "Oh, and, um, faeries!"

A very short but stout man with golden hair and eyes waved. "And this is Sandy Mansnoozie," introduced North. "He is companion to the Baku."

"What can you tell us about Kozmotis and Mr. Black?" asked Gard politely, his voice like rocks grinding against one another.

The one named Bunnymund stepped forward. "The four of us had been friends with Pitchiner since childhood. His nightmare was well-behaved and fed off the fear Pitchiner had. To a nightmare companion of course, this soothed him instead of the adverse effects everyone else suffers."

Ana cut in. "Pitchiner died in a car accident in 1983, exactly ten years ago. Kozmotis fell apart. Though we could not speak to him, our companions could. His words didn't make sense. He was literally falling apart."

Sandy tugged on North's sleeve and began to sign with his hands. North began to translate. "One time, Tooth's faerie followed Kozmotis and watched him pour fear into a lone man on the side of the road. Everything he had went into terrifying that man. Needless to say, it worked. The man screamed in horror, almost as if he was being pulled apart limb from limb. The man... well, he ended his own life that night."

North looked away from Sandy's hands to complete the story. "Tooth's faerie told us she heard Kozmotis speak to himself. His sentences made no sense, but the words she received were dark and full of power. He enjoyed manipulating a person until they couldn't handle it anymore. He enjoyed the power he had." North sighed. "That was the last anyone ever saw of him until recently. We do believe that now, he is not alone."

"Why do you believe that?" Joye asked skeptically.

"I feel it," North said passionately, putting his hands on his stomach. "In my belly." Bunnymund shot North a look.

Sandy looked at Aster convincingly, his hands a blur. "Aw, never mind," he mumbled to Sandy.

"Thank you for your time," Kinga said politely. "So it's clear. We will gather a force of companions and people to find Kozmotis-and maybe his followers-and put a stop to them." She turned to Jack sternly. "I expect you to remember your place and keep yourself separate from the situation. We will handle it ourselves."

Jack nodded sourly, then as he was dismissed, ran to catch up to the four who had spoken. "Excuse me," he said, "but do you think you could help stop him?"

"Anything we can do," Ana said hopefully, "would be great. He is our friend and we intend to stop him before this gets bad." Jack traded numbers with three of them-Sandy could be reached by first calling North-and promised he could get them in.

"Thank you," Jack said, looking up at North, who seemed to be the leader of them all.

North slapped Jack on the shoulder with a big hand, causing him to stumble and even drop his pen. "No problem!" he said with a jolly laugh, and the four hiked off toward their vehicles.

Jack had absolutely no intention of following Kinga's rule.


End file.
